Apr 11 - Government Takes Steps to Amend Legislation Permitting Same Sex Couples from Adopting
The Gibraltar Supreme Court yesterday ruled that Section 5 (2) of the Adoption Act in Gibraltar violates the Gibraltar Constitution by excluding a claimant in a same sex relationship from applying for an adoption order jointly with their partner.
Minister for Equality, Samantha Sacramento has today insisted that as a consequence of the court ruling, the Government has begun taking steps to amend the legislation. The Care Agency, which is the body that deals with the recommendations for adoption, is reviewing policies to ensure that they are consistent with this decision.
Commenting on the matter, the GGR exclaimed that this was a ‘landmark equality declaration by the Supreme Court'. The group warmly congratulated the couple involved in the adoption application, on their success in court. The lesbian couple used IVF procedures, with one partner donating her ova. They were then subject to donor sperm fertilization. The other partner carried the baby to term.
The equality rights group added, ‘this judgment, however, is primarily about the rights of the child since, far overarching the rights of couples to be equally considered for adoption, however, the adoption process will always have to surmount the major hurdle of importance, which is, regardless of sexual orientation or civil status, the primary right of the child to a loving and stable home. That singular concern will always be paramount in any adoption procedure. In this particular case, the Court has been satisfied that these conditions are met, and in future all applications will be treated with exactly the same respect’.
