Court allows gay couples to adopt

Zagreb – Activists in Croatia yesterday hailed a court ruling that should make it easier for gay couples to adopt children in the staunchly Catholic country.

Mladen Kozic and Ivo Segota brought a discrimination case after their application to adopt was rejected in 2016 by a social welfare centre because they were a same-sex couple.

The couple are life partners, a legal status in Croatia that gives them the same rights as married couples.

In a decision from last month made public yesterday, Zagreb’s administrative court annulled the decision, taking issue with the centre’s opinion that it was “not in a child’s interest” to be adopted by same-sex partners.

It ruled that the centre had given an “insufficient explanation” and cited the country’s constitution, which says all people have “equal rights and freedoms”.

The ruling can still be appealed by the social policy ministry.

“This historic ruling opens the door to all gay and lesbian couples in Croatia who want to adopt children,” said Daniel Martinovic, head of Rainbow Families association.

It guarantees that life partners would not be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation, he said.

“Now, they can contact their social welfare centre and apply for adoption assessment without fears.”

For Kozic and Segota, the case comes a year after they achieved another legal first – winning a similar legal battle for their right to become foster parents.

Roughly 400 gay couples are registered as life partners in Croatia and according to Rainbow Families, several dozen are interested in adoption.

More than 2 000 youngsters live in care homes in Croatia but fewer than 100 are adopted each year.

Religious groups have campaigned to restrict gay people’s right to foster or adopt. Ultra-Catholic association Vigilare on Facebook called the latest ruling a “shame”.

“Already traumatised kids from children’s homes should not be guinea pigs for experiments of some adults,” the association wrote.

Such views are common, with opinion polls suggesting most Croatians oppose same-sex couples adopting children.–