Whether a person can be discriminated in adoption because of sexual orientation?

Abstract

Possibility of adoption for gays and lesbians is a widely debated issue today, therefore arguments for and against adoption by homosexuals must be discussed. The main purpose of this article is to explore if homosexuals can be discriminated in adoption. The first part of this article discusses adoption institution. Special attention related to homosexual adoption is given to legal regulation of adoption in the U.S., Lithuania and other European countries and forms of adoption. The second part deals with the question whether the right to adopt is treated as the fundamental right protected by international conventions and national constitutions (particularly by UCHR, ICCPR, European Convention, the U.S. Constitution and Lithuanian Constitution). The analysis of legal regulation related to homosexual adoption in the U.S., Lithuania and other European countries reveals that there is a variety of views from banning homosexual adoption to allowing homosexuals to marry and to adopt children. The right to adopt is treated as the privilege not as the fundamental right. Taking into account that the most important interest in adoption is the best interest of the child, the discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation to some degree is allowed. For the same reason absolute prohibition for homosexuals to adopt should not be tolerated. The author of the article concludes that the best interest for the child depends on many objective and subjective things thus each case of adoption, including homosexual adoption, should be considered closely on factual basis.