In an unprecedented move, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned France for having prevented a lesbian couple living in adopting a child, considering that this woman was the victim of discrimination.
It is the first time the court sentenced one of the 47 States of the Council of Europe for discrimination of homosexual character on an application for adoption.
The judges of the court, by 10 votes to seven, felt that France committed a discrimination against the complainant because of his sexual orientation, and a violation of respect for private and family life.
For these violations of the European Convention on Human Rights condemned France to pay 10,000 Euro in moral damages and court costs 14,528.
Court spokesman said that this ruling will set case but said that with the same, the Court does not validate the adoption of children by gay couples in France. "The Court says that you can not discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation when authorizing an adoption. The verdict states that the homosexual condition of the plaintiff contributed to the decision of the French authorities," he said.
In 2002, the Strasbourg Court ruled against a gay Frenchman who also consider themselves discriminated against for their sexual orientation when eligible for adoption. Now, on this occasion, the applicant, a 45 year old woman living in a pair with another, had requested in February 1998, the adoption of a child, a request which was rejected by the regional authorities of Jura (east).
These were based on the recommendation of the committee responsible for reviewing applications for adoption, based in turn on reports of a social worker and a psychologist who saw the ambiguous status of the applicant's partner and found that there was no parental figure.
The complainant appealed the decision and, after a marathon court, the State Council, France's highest administrative body, endorsed the rejection of adoption, so she went to the Strasbourg court to consider that he had suffered discriminatory treatment by their sexual orientation and a violation of their right to privacy.
The Court of Human Rights held that "the plaintiff's homosexuality has been filed with the motives" of the French authorities to reject his application for adoption. "The reference to the complainant's homosexuality was, if not explicitly, at least implicitly, and its influence on the assessment of demand is not only proven but is equipped with a decisive character," the Court.
The judges considered that since France is allowed adoption to single people, only homosexual status of the applicant could justify its rejection. Given this finding, the Court finds that the complainant was subjected to a "differential treatment" because of their homosexuality.
Just so the judiciary initiated by the complainant, responding to the letters of EB. Since Jura authorities rejected his suit in March 1999, EB went to court to defend their cause. Adoption services led to its rejection in the absence of a father image and the ambiguity presented by the fact that the applicant lived in a pair with another woman, despite his petition as a single.
Besançon Administrative Court annulled these two reasons in February 2000, but regional authorities appealed and the Court of Appeal gave the reason Nancy in December of that year. E.B. took the case to the State Council, which in June 2002 rejected his appeal, finding that the decision not to grant the adoption was not based on sexual orientation of women, but on the needs and interest of the child.
News:
The Ukrainian orphan Elton John is planning to adopt wasn’t allowed to go with him and his partner David Furnish home. A Ukrainian family minister said that the singer and his longtime partner cannot bring the child home due to a national law that prohibits unmarried couples from adopting but John and Furnish entered into a civil partnership on December 21, 2005 – the first day such unions became legal in England. Ukraine low is very strick when it comes to adoption same sex couples. Last hope for Elton is a presidential dispension to take 14-moths- old baby.
So, let me know what your point of view.
Do you think gay couples can be good parents to adopted children?
Are gay couples capable of raising children with as much devotion as a heterosexual couple?
When should not a couple be given a chance to adopt children?
What are your views on gay couples raising children through adoption or
surrogacy/insemination? What about children's feelings ?
To be honest idea of adopting children by gay couples for me is unacceptable. Maybe I'm old-fashion. For sure I'm conservative. On the other hand I don't have any problem with gay couples but adoption is that they shouldn't be allowed to.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind seeing gay couples, but if I could chose I prefer lesbians. Don't know why? watch Bruno again :P
ReplyDeleteSo I think it could be better (for children) to have 2 mommys than daddys
I'm against gay couples being allowed to adopt children, because of the children and their future life and friends relations - they are alienated from their buddies, environment, mostly in need of a psychologist or even psychiatrist. It must be very stressful to be such a child and live normal live, at least try to.
ReplyDeleteBut I do not say that they can't be better parents than heterosexual couple. They may be.
>Do you think gay couples can be good parents >to adopted children?
ReplyDeleteI suppose they can, but, in my opinion the society is the key. Imagine you're an adopted child that have two mothers or fathers... . In Poland that may be hard.
Child adopted by a gay couple will be in a difficult situation for sure. This problem shouldn’t be considered only from the parents side. They want to have a child, they have their needs and that’s ok but the child’s needs also should be considered. That adopted child would have a more difficult start in life, it could have improper beliefs growing up in a gay family and may even be alienated from the society or mocked by other children from "normal" families.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with Marek. If you are so modern maybe you will give your child to such couple?
ReplyDeleteI have idea, maybe three fathers or mothers will be better than two? Why not, there are places where the family consists of more than two parents.
Not too many comments here ;)
ReplyDeleteI on the other hand don't see anything bad with gay couples adopting a child. Some of you have said that you have nothing against gay couples, but on the other hand the idea of such couples adopting a child is a no-no. Now that's, in my opinion, kinda strange, because on one hand you tolerate homosexuals, but on the other hand you don't agree that it's a healthy enough social environment for a child to be raised in. So that's kinda an awkward opinion if you ask me :)
Also, look at it from the child's perspective. A family or no family. Which would you choose, being an orphan? Or maybe beggars CAN be choosers? :)
For me, family is a mother and father as parents and their children, none of the other does not exist in my world view. I believe that homosexual couples are harmless but condemning children to live in a very strange relationship, and the house that it is only a name is simply inhumane. Of course I am totally against the adoption of children by homosexual couples.
ReplyDelete