Politicians in the country passed the bill on Tuesday. The new law defines marriage between a man and a woman and states that “the foundation of the family is marriage and the father-son relationship. The mother is a woman, the father is a man.”
As a general rule, only a married couple in Hungary can adopt, with a few exceptions for single people, which would previously have been the way for a same-sex couple.
Rights groups have denounced the new law. “This is a dark day for Hungary’s LGBTQ community and a dark day for human rights,” said David Vig, director of Amnesty Hungary.
“These new discriminatory, homophobic and transphobic laws, rushed under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic, are just the latest attack on LGBTQ people by the Hungarian authorities,” Vig added.
Masen David, executive director of the human rights organization Transgender Europe, called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to address the rights of LGBT parents, the attempt to eradicate children of different genders and the prohibition of legal recognition of gender in the standard assessment of ongoing legislation and procedures in Article 7 of the TEU against Hungary “.
While Hungary is a member of the European Union, Prime Minister Victor Orban has been paving his own path in recent years, passing a series of laws that EU leaders have warned will undermine the country’s democracy.
In May, Hungary made it illegal for trans and intersex people to change gender in identity documents. And although the country currently recognizes same-sex legal unions, the ruling Fidesz party and its leader, Orban, are opposed to legalizing same-sex marriage.
On Tuesday, the prime minister’s office hailed the bill banning same-sex adoption, saying it was intended to “strengthen the protection of Hungarian families and the safety of our children.”
The stance of Hungarian Conservative lawmakers was also clearly reflected in Tuesday’s justification section of the bill, which reads: “Hungary’s fundamental law is a living framework that expresses the will of the nation, the way we want “However, the set of ‘modern’ ideas that make all traditional values, including the two sexes, relative, is a growing concern.”
Earlier this year, Hungary lost points in a ranking of European countries for the LGBTI rights of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) due to “policies aimed at LGBTI communities”.