Judgment: LGBT individuals are eligible to adopt children in the EU
The European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgement in a case of a lesbian woman v. France and said that exclusion of individuals from the application process for adoption of children simply because of their sexual orientation is discriminatory and is in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights. Ms. E.B., a lesbian nursery teacher, applied for approval as a possible adoptive parent already in February 1998, but her application was rejected, essentially because of her sexual orientation. In June 2002, the highest administrative court in France still upheld the rejection of her application. In 2002 in the very similar case, the European Court of Human Rights ruled by 4 votes to 3 that the exclusion of a gay man from the application process for adoption of children, because of his sexual orientation, did not violate Convention. Patricia Prendiville, Executive Director of ILGA-Europe, commented the verdict: “We welcome the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights. This is a significant change in the Court’s approach towards and interpretation of the rights of LGBT people under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court firmly established a principle that administrative officials cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of her/his sexual orientation in the process of applying to adopt a child.”
