European court: Gays have right to adopt

In a ruling that could have far-reaching consequences the European Court of Human Rights said on Jan. 22 that the exclusion of individuals to adopt children simply because of their sexual orientation is discriminatory and in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights. The case involved a woman identified only as E.B. who had been rejected by the French government when she applied to adopt a child. She was described in court documents as a nursery school teacher who has been living with another woman since 1990. E.B applied for approval as a possible adoptive parent in February 1998, but her application was rejected, essentially because of her sexual orientation. In June 2002, the highest administrative court in France upheld the rejection of her application and E.B. appealed to the European Court of Human Rights which is based in Strasbourg. The court in a 10-7 ruling said that France had acted illegally by denying the application. The ruling noted that France, like a number of other European countries, allows single people to adopt. The court also noted that there was nothing to indicate that E.B. would be an unfit parent except for France's objection on the grounds of her sexuality. The woman's attorney, Caroline Mecary, said that the ruling sets a precedent for other countries. "Henceforth, France will no longer be able to refuse approval to an unmarried person on the grounds of their homosexuality," Mecary said in a statement to the media. "The same thing will be true for other member countries of the Council of Europe which allow adoption by unmarried people." The International Lesbian Gay Association -- Europe, and three other European LGBT rights groups were granted intervenor status in support of E.B.'s case. "Today 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," said Patricia Prendiville, Executive Director of ILGA-Europe.