Finnish MPs disagree on registered couples' adoption rights

Internal adoption among same-sex couples seen as gateway to "gender-neutral concept of marriage"

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There was a fierce clash of opinions on Wednesday night as the Finnish Parliament started discussing the issue of internal adoption rights for registered same-sex couples.
      Minister of Justice Tuija Brax (Green League) emphasised that this is a question of securing the child’s rights: apart from being granted certain juridical rights the child also gets a chance to live within a family format accepted by the society.
     
Päivi Räsänen (Christian Democrats), who has become the key figure in the camp of those opposing the law, focused on the latter point made by Brax.
      Räsänen sees internal adoption as a link in a long chain that started with the endorsing of the law on registered partnership, which will continue with the external adoption right, and will culminate at a “gender-neutral concept of marriage”.
      In Räsänen’s view this is the precise political aim of the law. The child’s rights could be taken care of by appointing both the family’s parents as guardians and by changing the inheritance legislation.
     
This aim was not disputed. On the contrary, the MPs defending the legislation considered a gender-neutral concept of marriage to be a desirable goal.
      One of the Green League MPs described the situation, where some couples in love are allowed to wed whereas others are not, as “sexual apartheid”.
      “Granting rights to homosexuals does not mean taking rights away from the heteros”, another Green League MP pointed out.
      Petri Salo (Nat. Coalition), who has earlier been seen as a spokesman for the traditional notion of a family, reckoned that the times have changed and become favourable for such a law.
      Salo referred to the positive stands by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Mannerheim League of Child Welfare.
      The law proposal was sent to be prepared by the Parliamentary law committee headed by Heidi Hautala (Green League).
     
The government’s proposal would give one half of a registered same-sex couple the right to adopt the other half’s child.
      At present such cases are decided on the prevailing law on adoption. As a rule an adoption cannot take place without the consent of both biological parents.
      The child and the parents’ rights would match those in other parents. The adopting parent will become liable to provide maintenance and the child will obtain full inheritance rights of the parent.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Ministry considers changes to position of common-law partners (2.8.2007)
  Poll: Majority would upgrade parental rights of same-sex partners (10.4.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat