Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on January 10 that the country would legalise marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, without giving a timeline for the issue.
“We will legislate equality in marriage.”
Mitsotakis added that it was essential for “the discussion to mature in society” before he would present the proposal to the cabinet. However, Greek media speculate that the bill will be presented before the European Parliament elections in June.
The PM stated that the move would benefit “a few children and couples” without infringing on the rights of other Greeks.
Same-sex couples have children, and these children are not going to vanish. But these children do not have equal rights.
He also emphasised that the bill would not affect Greece’s existing rules on assisted reproduction, which restricts parenthood through surrogacy to single women and heterosexual couples only.
“Women turning into child production engines on order… that’s not going to happen.”
Mitsotakis is expected to be backed by less than 100 of the 158 lawmakers of his conservative New Democracy party. However, the prime minister indicated on Wednesday that he would not impose party discipline on his lawmakers and noted that they could abstain from voting in parliament.
The issue is a priority for the major opposition Syriza party, whose leader Stefanos Kasselakis is gay. He is the first elected official in Greece to announce his non-traditional sexual orientation. He stated that he and his American husband wanted to become parents via surrogacy.
A key obstacle to same-sex issues in Greece is the long-standing opposition of the Greek Orthodox Church, which wields considerable influence in society and politics. Mitsotakis responded by saying that same-sex weddings would be civil unions and would not take place in churches.
I do not ask things from the Church which I know it cannot do.
The Church’s governing body issued a circular in December to dioceses that strongly condemned same-sex marriage and adoption:
“Children are not pets or accessories. No social modernisation and no political correctness can trick the natural need of children for a father and a mother.”
According to the Greek constitution, single parents, regardless of gender, have been allowed to adopt children since 1946. However, until now, the second partner in a same-sex union was not counted.
Under the previous Syriza government, Greece legalised civil unions for same-sex couples in 2015, becoming one of the last countries in the European Union to authorise it.
An opinion poll conducted by Greek polling service Alco this week showed that 49% of Greeks oppose the legalisation of same-sex marriage. 35% support the prime minister’s initiative.
In November, a Pew Research poll found that 49% of Greeks opposed the measure, while 48% were in favour.
According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), almost 40 countries out of 193 UN member states allow same-sex couples to adopt children. As for the EU, 15 states have legalised same-sex marriage and 16 have authorised adoption.
