Taiwan grants joint adoption rights to same-sex couples
- Legislature passes amendment to civil code making adoption process the same for all couples
- Changes are the latest piece in the ‘human rights puzzle’, DPP legislator says
The changes mean the process for joint adoption is the same for same-sex couples as it is for heterosexual couples under the island’s civil code.
Under the previous rules, a partner in a same-sex union could only adopt if the child was biologically related to their spouse.
If the child was not the son or daughter of either partner, only one could become their legal guardian. As there were no restrictions on single individuals adopting, some same-sex couples would divorce in order to adopt, according to marriage equality advocates.
The amendment was spurred after a landmark 2021 court ruling in the southern city of Kaohsiung allowed a man to become the legal guardian of his husband’s adopted daughter.
While that ruling was celebrated by LGBTQ advocates at the time, it only applied in that instance and similar cases by other couples were later struck down.
