“This is a dark day for Hungary’s LGBTQ community and a dark day for human rights.”
Hungary has voted to ban same-sex couples from adopting children, in a move strongly opposed by human rights groups across Europe.
The new law was passed by Viktor Orban’s ruling right-wing government, and comes amid a wave of anti-LGBT legislation passed in the country.
Adoption for same-sex couples in Hungary was previously possible if one partner made an individual application. Same-sex marriage is still illegal in the country.
Now, only married heterosexual couples can adopt children.
Orban has been in power since 2010. Another new law recently passed defines a traditional family as “based on marriage and the parent-child relation. The mother is a woman, the father a man”.
Justice Minister Judit Varga said: “The main rule is that only married couples can adopt a child, that is, a man and a woman who are married.
Single people in Hungary will now need authorisation from the government if they are to adopt.
The Hungarian constitution has also been amended to reflect the new law.
It states that families must raise children in a strict, conservative Christian doctrine.
The constitutional amendment reads: “Hungary defends the right of children to identify with their birth gender and ensures their upbringing based on our nation’s constitutional identity and values based on our Christian culture.”
In passing the law, the Hungarian government also took a swipe at Western nations and liberal philosophies in general.
Politicians in the country say the measures have been brought in to counteract “new ideological processes in the West” and to “protect children against possible ideological or biological interference”.
Human rights groups across Europe have condemned the new laws. “This is a dark day for Hungary’s LGBTQ community and a dark day for human rights,” according to David Vig, director of Amnesty Hungary.
