In 2012 half of the adoptable children in Flanders, the northern region of Belgium, went to same-sex couples.
According to the Flemish Center for Adoptions (FCA), of the 30 children that were put up for adoption last year, 14 went to gay families and 16 went to heterosexual ones.
Granted, we’re not talking huge numbers, but it’s a testament to how adoption agencies can operate when they don’t fall prey to bigotry. What’s more, since mothers in Belgium can halt an adoption if they don’t approve of the prospective parents, gay couples are getting the thumbs-up from birth moms as well.
None of the 122 children brought to Flanders from other countries (most often China and Ethiopia) were adopted by gay couples. The FCA claims this is because of opposition to gay couples adopting in those regions.
In 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Gay couples can adopt, access in-vitro treatments, serve in the military and are protected from workplace discrimination.
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Hmm, wonder how hard it is to learn Flemish?
Ken
Flemish is very difficult to learn indeed, because technically it doesn’t exist. Take a course in Dutch and you’ll be fine. The official languages of Belgium are Dutch, French, and German.
Deegy
Hold on here…Living in Belgium, I know that this is not rosy news: International adoption is still denied to gay and lesbian people in Belgium because the authorities, institutions which are largely full of Christian Democrats, refuse to open an adoption channel with any country that also allows gay adoption. So far, the main countries of origin for foreign children adopted in Belgium are Ethiopia (78), China (15), Poland (10) and South Africa (8). Most importantly, Belgium refuses to open an adoption channel with the United States, where many gay couples may be treated equally as adopting couples in major states. Hardly any children are up for domestic adoption in Belgium. This story actually implies that LGBT people are so desperate to adopt in Belgium that they are doing whatever they can, despite the efforts of the authorities. If most straight Belgians are able to adopt internationally, why are all LGBT people forced to wait for the few number of children who need domestic adoption in Belgium? I suggest that you add some context or take down this story.
Freddie27
Flemish isn’t a language, just the people who live in Flanders, the northern half of Belgium, Wallonia being the Southern half. Having a Belgian Flemish friend I can tell you Dutch is an incredibly difficult language.