Arrangement for inter-country adoption by same-sex couples
13 May 2005
This Autumn, Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner will submit a bill to the Lower House of Parliament that will allow inter-country adoption for same-sex couples, according to a letter that the Minister sent to the Lower House in response to meetings previously held with Members of Parliament on the issue. In those meetings he announced that he would open the Placement of Foreign Foster Children Act (Wobka) to same-sex couples.
Under the arrangement, the care period for one-parent adoption will be reduced from three years to one year. This means in practice that the completion of the adoption of a foreign-born child by one man or woman may take place two years earlier than is presently the case. Under current legislation, the person who cares for a child becomes an adoptive parent after three years.
The amended care period is also favourable for the adoptive parent’s partner who decides to adopt the foreign child at a later point in life. In these cases, a care period of one year should however be taken into account before he or she can also become an adoptive parent but the total length of the procedure for both parents can, as a result of the change, be shortened from a total of four years to two years.
The requirement of having lived together for three years in relation to step-parent adoption will also be cancelled by the Minister and as a result the adoption of a child born in a lesbian relationship can already be completed at the child’s birth. It will then be possible to start the adoption procedure before the child is born and adopt it at birth.
In the event that a decision to adopt a child is not taken before the birth but later, it can be arranged that the adoption will have retroactive effect from birth. In this way, the legal position of children in a lesbian relationship will be equal to children born from a marriage between a husband and wife.
The Minister also says in his letter to the Lower House that he is planning a second legislative proposal on adoption that will specifically concern the working process and the procedure of cross-border adoption. This relates to matters such as the extension of the adoption consent in principle from three to four years, the possibility of granting this consent for two children at the same time if the adoptive parents have proven their suitability and to raise the maximum age to 48 years for cases where a family wants to adopt a little brother of sister of the already adopted child.
This Autumn, Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner will submit a bill to the Lower House of Parliament that will allow inter-country adoption for same-sex couples, according to a letter that the Minister sent to the Lower House in response to meetings previously held with Members of Parliament on the issue. In those meetings he announced that he would open the Placement of Foreign Foster Children Act (Wobka) to same-sex couples.
Under the arrangement, the care period for one-parent adoption will be reduced from three years to one year. This means in practice that the completion of the adoption of a foreign-born child by one man or woman may take place two years earlier than is presently the case. Under current legislation, the person who cares for a child becomes an adoptive parent after three years.
The amended care period is also favourable for the adoptive parent’s partner who decides to adopt the foreign child at a later point in life. In these cases, a care period of one year should however be taken into account before he or she can also become an adoptive parent but the total length of the procedure for both parents can, as a result of the change, be shortened from a total of four years to two years.
The requirement of having lived together for three years in relation to step-parent adoption will also be cancelled by the Minister and as a result the adoption of a child born in a lesbian relationship can already be completed at the child’s birth. It will then be possible to start the adoption procedure before the child is born and adopt it at birth.
In the event that a decision to adopt a child is not taken before the birth but later, it can be arranged that the adoption will have retroactive effect from birth. In this way, the legal position of children in a lesbian relationship will be equal to children born from a marriage between a husband and wife.
The Minister also says in his letter to the Lower House that he is planning a second legislative proposal on adoption that will specifically concern the working process and the procedure of cross-border adoption. This relates to matters such as the extension of the adoption consent in principle from three to four years, the possibility of granting this consent for two children at the same time if the adoptive parents have proven their suitability and to raise the maximum age to 48 years for cases where a family wants to adopt a little brother of sister of the already adopted child.
Γι' αυτό τους πάω τους Ολλανδούς, είναι όσο πιο πρακτικοί γίνεται και κοινωνικά ευαίσθητοι μαζί. Γνωστό μου gay ζευγάρι που έχει παιδιά είναι καταπληκτικοί γονεις, χρειάστηκε να περιμένουν και μερικά χρόνια αλλά τώρα πάνε και από μόνοι τους σε κάτι σάν σχολείο στο A.dam για το πως να αντιμετωπίσουν τυχόν προβλήματα που μπορεί να προκύψουν. Δηλαδή είναι και το κράτος, είναι και οι πολίτες. Πάντως I have to say it s a happy happy family.
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήΚαλωσόρισες, trol.
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήΚαι σ' ευχαριστώ.