Human rights groups and LGBTQ+ organisations have condemned a new law in Ecuador that explicitly prevents lesbian, gay and bisexual people from adopting children and could put some parents of trans children at risk of losing custody.
The Reform Law of Various Legal Bodies for the Streamlining of Adoption came into force on 14 August after being approved by Ecuador's National Assembly by 118 votes to none, with 25 abstentions. The legislation was presented as a measure to speed up adoption processes and reduce the time children spend in institutional care.
While Ecuador legalised same-sex marriage in 2019, the country's constitution already restricts adoption to different-sex couples. Campaigners say the new law goes further by explicitly requiring single adopters to be heterosexual, effectively barring lesbian, gay and bisexual people from adopting regardless of their suitability as parents.
Human Rights Watch described the legislation as discriminatory and warned that it entrenches existing barriers faced by LGBTQ+ people seeking to build families.
Cristian González Cabrera, senior LGBTQ+ rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: "Improving the adoption system is a legitimate legislative goal, but it should not be used as a pretext to entrench discrimination and undermine children's health."
He added: "By legislating on the basis of bias and misinformation rather than evidence, Ecuadorian lawmakers are endangering children and perpetuating stereotypes based on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics."
The legislation has also drawn criticism for provisions relating to transgender children. Under the law, a parent's "promotion" of gender-affirming medical care for a trans child may be used as grounds for terminating parental rights. Campaigners have argued that the wording is vague and could have far-reaching consequences for families supporting trans young people.
The Ecuadorian LGBT Federation criticised the reforms, arguing that sexual orientation should not be a factor in determining parental fitness. "Being heterosexual does not demonstrate parental fitness," the organisation said, adding that "being LGBT+ does not constitute parental incapacity either."
The federation also raised concerns about how authorities would assess whether a single prospective adopter met the law's requirement to be heterosexual, warning that the provision could create further discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.
Campaigners have called on Ecuador's government to amend the legislation and remove what they describe as discriminatory restrictions on LGBTQ+ families. Human Rights Watch has urged lawmakers to replace blanket exclusions based on sexual orientation with individual assessments of prospective adopters, arguing that sexual orientation has no bearing on a person's ability to provide a safe and loving home for a child.
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