Colombia’s Congress rejects referendum on gay couples’ right to adopt


nsnbc : Colombia’s Congress has rejected a referendum that sought to repeal a controversial Constitutional Court ruling that allows gay couples to adopt children. A House of Representatives committee rejected the referendum in a 20 – 12 vote.

Colombia_Adoption_same sex mariage_2017Colombia’s gay minority community was rejoicing over the vote calling it a victory for all children, singles and same sex couples. Others are not so enthusiastic, and especially not on behalf of children who can be adopted by same-sex couples.

Liberal Party House Representative Viviana Morales, said she and other opponents of same-sex parenthood would be pursuing a Plan B.

The decisions of both the court and congress are opposed by public opinion, the Colombian Catholic Church and a growing number of experts in child psychology, sociology and other relevant fields, wo “dare speak out despite dictates of political correctness” and say that having same sex couples adopt children does not take into account the many adverse effects on children, while it is “respect for sexual preferences gone awry”.

A recent Gallup Colombia poll, held in April, shows that 68% of Colombians reject same-sex parenthood. The same poll indicated that the ongoing public and political debate has reduced public rejection that stood at 80% in October. The church stresses that same-sex parenthood is a violation of the rights of children. The church beliefs a family must constitute of a man and a women and that being raised by a same sex couple would be detrimental to the development of the child.

Morales, who was opposed by her own party, said her Plan B was to appeal the decision in the House’s plenary chamber “so the debate is broader.” The Constitution stipulated that a proposal must be first be approved before proceeding to a new debate round, so Morales will have to work to launch Plan B. The same-sex adoption debate surged in 2015 after the constitutional court ordered equal rights to adoption for all Colombians, disregarding their sexual orientation.

The Constitutional Court ruled that excluding gay couples as possible adoptive parents “limits children’s right to a family.” One possible questions that may be raised is whether it violates the right of the child to be adopted by a same-sex couple.

Some proponents of same-sex adoption argue that the country’s Family Welfare agency ICBF said in 2015 that in Colombia more than 4,500 children were being raised in orphanages and that children would be better off if they were adopted.

Others would suggest that improving conditions at orphanages would be better for children than an adoption into a “gay family” with all of the developmental, psychological and social risks that this implies. The government had opposed Morales’ popularly supported proposal. President Juan Manuel Santos also reiterated ahead of the debate that the bill was both “unconstitutional and inconvenient.”

CH/L & A/N – nsnbc 11.05.2017



Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/05/11/colombias-congress-rejects-referendum-on-gay-couples-right-to-adopt/

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