Minors declared eligible for adoption: a hope for same-sex parent families.

Abstract

Nowadays, many countries have reformed their laws to allow same-sex marriage, thereby recognizing their right to form legally recognized families. This enables the adoption of infants in vulnerable situations and offers them a better quality of life. In Ecuador, same-sex marriage was approved in 2019; however, legal adoption is not possible. The objective of this work is to evaluate the effects that same-sex adoption could have on same-sex couples and infants. A critical-dogmatic approach was used. Interviews were conducted with eight psychology professionals; official statistics related to adoptions and same-sex marriage were analyzed; and the IADOV technique was applied to analyze the satisfaction of couples with adoption by homosexual couples. Both the literature and the results of the interviews indicate that there are no differences between adoption by heterosexual couples and that by homosexual couples. Ecuadorian legislation does not allow same-sex adoption, thus depriving both infants and couples of a quality family functioning space.

Keywords:

Minors declared eligible for adoption, Same-sex marriage, Ecuador.