Three same-sex couples are suing for the right to adopt, with the hopes of reaching the Council of Grand Justices for a constitutional interpretation, a coalition of LGBT rights groups said yesterday.
It has been two years since marriage equality was legalized, but same-sex couples still do not enjoy the same rights as mixed-sex couples when it comes to adoption, the groups told a news conference in Taipei under the slogan “do not make light of children’s rights.”
The law governing same-sex marriage only allows a spouse to adopt the biological child of their partner, preventing the partners from adopting as a couple, Taiwan Equality Campaign chief executive Jennifer Lu (呂欣潔) said.
Photo: CNA
This means that even if the couple is married, one spouse is a stranger to their adopted child under the law, she said.
Garden of Hope Foundation chief executive Wang Yueh-hao (王玥好) said that in her experience hosting adoption information sessions, same-sex couples are among the best prepared, materially and psychologically.
This legal restriction also severely infringes on the rights of children, as they might be forcefully taken from their home if their legal parent dies, placing them in an unstable environment, Wang said.
Three couples who have adopted children shared their experiences to illustrate the importance of amending the law.
Among them were Yi Ling (怡伶) and Yi Ju (怡如), who have been together for 11 years and in 2019 began adoption procedures.
A court ruled that Yi Ju was permitted to adopt a son last year.
Yi Ling said that she loves their son “more than words can express,” but according to the law, she is a stranger to him.
Earlier this year, Yi Ju began feeling sick, forcing the couple to have discussions they describe as “terrible” as they waited for Yi Lu’s biopsy results.
“If something happened to Yi Ju, I would have no way of obtaining guardianship over our son,” Yi Ling said. “He would lose both his mothers at once.”
Attorney Lee Yen-jong (李晏榕), who is representing the couples’ legal team, said that the rule contravenes the right to equality under the Constitution and the best interests of the child principle under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
From the perspective of the child, they have two fathers or two mothers, but legally, only one of them has the right to make major decisions on their behalf, she said.
The team hopes that the case could reach the Council of Grand Justices, who can issue an interpretation to fundamentally reverse this situation, Lee added.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday condemned Chinese and Russian authorities for escalating regional tensions, citing Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and joint China-Russia military activities breaching South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) over the past two days. A total of 30 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday, entering Taiwan’s northern and southwestern airspace in coordination with 15 naval vessels and three high-altitude balloons, the MAC said in a statement. The Chinese military also carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” targeting Taiwan on Thursday evening, the MAC said. On
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
RSS