Taiwan permits joint adoption for same-sex couples in marriage equality milestone

Taiwan‘s parliament approved an amendment permitting same-sex couples to adopt children jointly, a significant milestone for marriage equality in the country. Taiwan has been a leader in Asia’s growing LGBTQ+ rights movement since becoming the first nation in the region to legalise same-sex marriage in 2019. However, same-sex couples still faced limitations, such as being unable to adopt children together.

The amendment was passed on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Taiwan’s marriage equality law, removing those restrictions. Lawmaker Fan Yun, draped in a rainbow flag, praised the cross-party support for the bill, stating that the amendment “not only ensures the protection of children’s rights but also meets their best interest.”

Fan also said…

“In the future, spouses and parents, regardless of gender and sexual orientation, can have full legal protection.”

This move follows a family court ruling in southern Kaohsiung City last year, where a married gay man was granted shared parenthood of his husband’s adoptive child in the first verdict of its kind. The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, an advocacy group, applauded the adoption amendment and the recent recognition of transnational same-sex marriage.

In January, then-premier Su Tseng-chang lifted restrictions for international couples, allowing foreigners to marry their Taiwanese partners even if they come from territories where same-sex marriage is prohibited. This change included couples from Hong Kong and Macau, but not mainland China, which is governed under a different set of regulations in Taiwan.

“Following the full recognition of transnational same-sex marriage in January, Taiwan has taken another big step towards marriage equality,” the alliance said of the adoption amendment.

Taiwan is home to a thriving LGBTQ community, with a record 200,000 people attending a pride march in Taipei in 2019 to celebrate the legalisation of same-sex marriage. The law was enacted after Taiwan’s top court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

According to 2021 data from the Interior Ministry, at least 7,000 same-sex couples have married in the two years since the ruling. The alliance plans to continue advocating for more rights for same-sex couples, including the recognition of Taiwanese-Chinese marriages, reported Bangkok Post.