Lawmakers in Uruguay have agreed to
allow adoptions by gay and lesbian couples, the AP reported Thursday.
The measure was approved in a 40 to 13
vote by the 99-seat Chamber of Representatives. Remaining members
were absent from the vote. Senators, who previously approved the
measure on a first reading, are expected to pass the final bill.
Uruguay began recognizing the
relationships of gay and lesbian couples last year with civil unions,
a move that has placed the tiny Latin American country at odds with
its more conservative neighbors. In May, President Tabare Vazquez
signed a decree lifting a decades-old ban on gays serving in the
military.
The bill was passed over the objections
of the Roman Catholic Church, which claims sixty-six percent of the
country as members, and social conservatives.
Nicolas Cotugno, the archbishop of
Montevideo, said before the vote that allowing gay couples to adopt
would be a “serious error.”
“It's not about religion, philosophy
or sociology. It's something which is mainly about the respect of
human nature itself,” Catugno said in a statement.