Israel May Allow Same-Sex Couples to Adopt

metroweekly.com:

HistoryIsrael’s child adoption law passed in 1960 and uses a narrow definition of a couple.The adoption law (Clause 3) states that “adoption shall not take place except for by a man and his wife together.”There are exceptions. “The courts are permitted to grant an adoption order for a single parent whose partner adopted a child or if the child’s parents died and the single parent in question is a relative of the child,” The Jerusalem Post reported.In 2017 two couples, backed by The Israeli Association for the LGBTQ Community, The Israel Religious Action Center, the Gay Dads movement, the Agudah – The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, Open House for Pride, and Tolerance in Jerusalem, petitioned the government and the High Court to allow same-sex couples to adopt.As a response, the state argued that same-sex families were “exceptional” and could “overburden the child.” This resulted in a significant public outcry, and the state backtracked, acknowledging that the law discriminated against same-sex couples and promising to amend it.In 2019, then-Justice Minister Amir Ohana proposed a new bill to address this discrimination, but it failed to advance.The petitioners then moved to the High Court.

They asked the court to interpret the law in a way that allows same-sex couples to adopt. In doing so, they hoped the court would consider adding a statute to the law to “make it conform to the Basic Law – Human Dignity and Liberty,” The Jerusalem Post reported.Israel’s Basic Law consists of several sections that are used as basic guiding principles, similar to the United States Constitution.As of now, the adoption law remains unchanged, Haaretz reported.Why the High Court is Taking Action NowLast year the former Justice and.