An amendment to grant same-sex couples the right to jointly adopt children passed a preliminary review yesterday at the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, bringing the law one step closer to closing an oversight criticized by LGBTQ+ and children’s advocates since the passage of same-sex marriage in 2019.
The amendment to Article 20 of the Act for the Judicial Yuan’s Implementation of Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第七四八號解釋施行法) is to enter cross-party negotiations.
The amendment aims to grant same-sex couples the right to adopt jointly and for a partner to legally adopt their spouse’s adopted child, bringing their rights in line with those afforded to different-sex couples under the Civil Code.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
The act as it stands only allows for a same-sex partner to adopt their spouse’s biological child.
Since the law was passed in May 2019, 7,757 couples have registered marriages.
“At that time, we were the first in Asia” to legalize marriage equality, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said. “Three years later, we are still the only ones. Now it is time for Taiwan to take care of the next generation.”
Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) told legislators at the committee meeting that the authors of the 2019 law were facing a few points of contention.
First was a debate over using a dedicated law rather than changing the Civil Code, as LGBTQ+ advocates said it would mark them as different, Chen said.
They also had to use the term “permanent union for the purpose of living a common life” rather than “marriage” to appease opponents and align the law with the referendum results from the year before, he said.
At the time, there were also reservations over the hotly debated issue of adoption rights, he said, adding that the original wording was not meant to restrict same-sex couples.
However, after three years, it is time to legally protect the children of same-sex couples, he said.
The law as it was originally written denies parents certain crucial rights, he said.
For example, only a biological parent is eligible to take parental leave and has medical power of attorney, and in the event that a biological parent dies, their partner would have no right to their child, he said.
All of these circumstances have arisen since 2019, Chen said, adding that the government has the obligation of protecting these rights.
Given that adoption is a contractual agreement, Cheng said that the court has the right to revoke a person’s parental rights if it deems them unsuitable, regardless of gender.
The Ministry of Justice in its report to the committee cited a government-commissioned survey showing that attitudes toward LGBTQ+ issues have improved since the law was passed.
In 2018, only 37.4 percent of respondents supported marriage equality, but the figure climbed to 52.5 percent in 2020 and 60.4 percent last year.
Attitudes toward adoption rights have also improved, with 53.8 of respondents approving in 2018 and 67.2 percent last year.
Asked whether same-sex couples could raise a child as well as different-sex couples, 56.2 percent of respondents agreed in 2018, while 72.2 percent agreed last year.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS