2024-02-16 08:47:32
by Monica Ricci Sargentini
The law was wanted by the conservative leader Mitsotakis and opposed by the Orthodox church. The ban on the use of surrogacy remains
«A milestone for human rights, which reflects Greece today: a progressive and democratic country, passionately committed to European values». Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a member of the conservative Nea Dimokratia party, comments on and recognizes the right to adoption.
The initiative obtained the support of the opposition parties of Syriza, Pasok, Nea Aristerà and Plefsi eleftherias and passed with a large majority of Parliament, 176 votes in favor of the 254 deputies present in Parliament after two days of debate. Greece thus becomes the first country with a Christian-Orthodox majority and the 37th state in the world to legalize adoption by same-sex couples.
The measure was strongly opposed by the Orthodox Church because it was considered an attempt to “weaken the traditional family and subvert the foundations of society”. During the election campaign during Sunday masses a letter was read appealing to parliamentarians to reject the bill which, however, , according to polls, is considered right by almost 55% of Greeks.
Athens had already approved civil unions for gay and lesbian couples in 2015 but without including recognition of gay and lesbian parents. And it was precisely this that pushed Mitsotakis to propose the law: «Invisible people will finally become visible and their children will have the same rights as other children», declared the prime minister, recalling that «the image of the family has always changed in response to changes in society.”
The reform has caused quite a few stomach aches in the more conservative wing of the Nea Dimokratia party. «The bill represents a fundamental departure from national law and contradicts the beliefs of millions of Greeks. The government should not have proposed it” said former prime minister Antonis Samaras, deputy of Nea Dimokratia, during his speech in parliament, adding that “a child needs both a father and a mother”.
The law will allow gay and lesbian couples to access legitimizing adoption, i.e. that of children who are left without parents and have no ties to those who adopt them. And it will allow female couples to recognize children born with heterologous fertilization carried out abroad, but not to do it in Greece. Surrogacy will remain prohibited for same-sex couples and singles, although in Greece it is legal for women married heterosexual couples.
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February 16, 2024 (changed February 16, 2024 | 09:55)
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