The Hungarian government will amend a law passed in 2020 by the then government of Viktor Orban, which effectively banned the adoption of children by same-sex couples, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said, as reported by Reuters.
In Hungary, a member of the European Union, same-sex couples could adopt children until the end of 2020, if one of the partners applied for adoption as a single person.
According to a law passed in 2020 by Orban's right-wing Fidesz party, single people had to obtain approval from the minister responsible for family affairs to adopt, which in practice amounted to a ban.
The Hungarians ousted Orban in a landslide election victory in April after 16 years in power. Changing the adoption system would be a significant step toward restoring LGBTQ rights.
"We can say unequivocally that we will change this system: in such cases, the decision should not be made by a minister, a politician, but by experts capable of determining the conditions under which a particular child can have a life that will enable him to become a happy and harmonious member of society," the Hungarian said at the briefing, answering a question.
Orban, who presented himself as a defender of what he called Christian values against Western liberalism, passed laws that made it impossible to change gender on personal documents, effectively stopped the adoption of children by same-sex couples, and banned school content deemed to promote homosexuality or gender transition.
The weakening of LGBTQ+ rights has had traumatic consequences for this community.
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in April, just before the election, that Orban's government had violated European law with rules that ban or restrict access to LGBTQ content and that stigmatize and marginalize gay and transgender people.
Hungary has never allowed same-sex marriage, but it recognizes registered partnerships.
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