Ecuador’s parliament has passed a law by 118 votes banning same-sex couples and gay single people from adopting children. The legislation also allows transgender children to be removed from their parents’ custody if the parents are accused of promoting gender-affirming healthcare.
The adoption system reform is officially justified as a way to simplify procedures and reduce the amount of time children spend in institutional care.
Human rights advocates from Human Rights Watch and the local LGBT federation condemned the provisions, arguing that speeding up the adoption process cannot justify discrimination and that sexual orientation does not affect parenting abilities. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the country since 2019.
