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INFERTILITY   ADOPTION   POST-ADOPTION   FAMILY TREE   Adoption Resource Central    Heart of Adoption Articles to inspire   International adoption guide   You can order Family Helper publications		Gay couples can adopt in six provinces BY ROBIN HILBORN, Family Helper editor
		(June 7, 2002) The Quebec Legislature unanimously voted on June 7, 2002 to let same-sex couples adopt children and enjoy marriage-like status through civil unions. Gay couples can now adopt in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Quebec also became the second province, after Nova Scotia, to recognize civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. One partner of the civil union can adopt a child (but not both) and both are legally recognized as co-parents. Manitoba said Dec. 11, 2001 it would amend the Adoption Act to allow same-sex couples to adopt. Sweden approves same-sex adoption -- On June 5, 2002 Swedish legislators voted to let same-sex couples adopt children. Gays registered in a legal partnership can now be considered joint adoptive parents of children adopted in the country or abroad. One of the partners can adopt the child of another. Sweden is one of the few countries to give homosexuals the right to enter legal partnerships and adopt children. The inclusion of adoptions of children abroad might have little practical effect since most countries forbid adoption by homosexuals. Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland already recognize legal partnerships between gays, but only Denmark, Netherlands and Iceland allow adoption. [www.gay.com] On Jan. 30, 2003 Belgium became the second country in the world to recognize gay marriages, but does not allow gay couples to adopt. [AP] FOR MORE: Canadian Press, Dec. 7, 11, 2001 Globe and Mail, www.globeandmail.com, and Winnipeg Free Press, www.winnipegfreepress.com, Dec. 11, 2001 CBC, cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/07/09/ns_adoption010709 About.com, adoption.about.com/library/blnews.htm Gay couples may adopt in N.S. -- A Nova Scotia supreme court judge ruled in July 2001 that the law barring same sex couples from adopting a child is unconstitutional. CBC, cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/07/09/ns_adoption010709 About.com, adoption.about.com/library/blnews.htm ________________________________________ You may reproduce this item with the credit: "Source: Family Helper (www.familyhelper.net)"