Puerto Rico Supreme Court Upholds Ban Preventing Gay Couples from Adopting
With a narrow 5-4 vote, Puerto Rico's Supreme Court continues to ban gay couples from adopting children. The vote weighed in on an individual case, involving an unnamed woman who attempted to adopt the child of her partner. Her partner had had in-vitro fertilization to conceive the child.
The five judges who upheld the vote argued that "family" is strictly defined to include only a mother and a father, adding that this arrangement is best for a child's dignity and well-being. A dissenting Judge, Chief Justice Federico Hernandez Denton said that the adoption would benefit the child.
This saddened many people, including Ricky Martin, who expressed his sadness in the form of a tweet: "How sad. This I see as turning your back on childhood. So many orphans wanting to have the warmth of home."
Q tristeza. Esto yo lo veo como darle la espalda a la niñez. Tantos huérfanos queriendo tener el calor de 1hogar bit.ly/ZgW5xa
— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) February 20, 2013
This is one of several items that could extend more rights to gays and lesbians, up for debate among legislators in Puerto Rico.
