Columbian gay couples are now legally allowed to adopt children, thanks to a historic ruling in which adoption agencies are no longer allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexuality.
A historic ruling in Columbia now means that same-sex couples are allowed to adopt children in a 6-2 vote.
The constitutional court lifted the ban so adoption agencies are no longer allowed to discriminate against gay couples. Couples are now able to adopt children that are unrelated to them. Before the ban’s lift, same-sex couples could only adopt if the child or children was one of the couple’s own children.
Same-sex unions were made legal in Columbia in 2013, however full same-sex marriage is still illegal.
According to the BBC the chief justice of the Constitutional Court, Maria Victoria Calle Correa said that excluding gay couples,
“limits children’s right to a family,
“A person’s sexual orientation or gender are not in and of themselves indicative of a lack of moral, physical or mental suitability to adopt.”
