Internal adoption has become popular among lesbian couples in registered civil unions.
In September, legislation came into effect allowing one of the members of a registered same-sex relationship to officially become a parent of the biological child of the other partner.
So far, 40 registered female couples have applied for such an adoption in Helsinki. No male couples have done this yet.
“In all of the adoption applications so far there have been no grounds for turning down the application”, says the city’s leading social worker Aulikki Haimi-Kaikkonen.
Internal adoption is also possible for parents who have split up from their registered partnership before the new law took effect.
“The aim of this is to secure visitation rights of both caregivers after the split”, Haimi-Kaikkonen explains.
Adoption after a separation will remain a possibility until September 2012.
In separations that take effect after September this year, the adoption has to be pending when the split takes effect.
