Three years after it allowed gay and
lesbian couples to marry, Portugal is poised to extend limited
adoption rights to gay and lesbian couples.
The parliament approved an adoption
bill on Friday with a 99-94 vote.
The measure gives a spouse the right to
adopt his/her partner's biological or adopted children. A second
proposal which would have allowed gay couples to jointly adopt was
defeated.
Passage in the 230-seat Lisbon assembly
prompted cheers from onlookers seated in the gallery.
As many as 28 deputies were no-shows
for the vote and 9 refused to vote.
The bill now heads to the desk of
conservative President Anibal Cavaco Silva, who grudgingly signed the
gay marriage bill in 2010.
Paulo Corte-Real, head of LGBT group
ILGA, described the move as significant.
“It was a super-important,
fundamental approval as it concerns the human rights of children and
not just the couple,” Corte-Real
is quoted as saying by Reuters.
Passage of the bill came on the
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).