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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Uruguay allows same-sex adoption | Uruguay allows same-sex adoption |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Same-sex couples in Uruguay will be able to adopt children following the approval of a controversial bill by the country's senate. | Same-sex couples in Uruguay will be able to adopt children following the approval of a controversial bill by the country's senate. |
| The move means Uruguay becomes the first Latin American country to allow gay couples the chance to adopt. | The move means Uruguay becomes the first Latin American country to allow gay couples the chance to adopt. |
| Some 17 of 23 senators voted in favour of the new legislation, AFP reports. | Some 17 of 23 senators voted in favour of the new legislation, AFP reports. |
| The change - opposed by the Catholic Church - is the latest in a series of liberalising measures supported by left-wing President Tabare Vazquez. | The change - opposed by the Catholic Church - is the latest in a series of liberalising measures supported by left-wing President Tabare Vazquez. |
| The archbishop of Montevideo, Nicolas Cotugno, said before the vote that it would be a "serious error to accept the adoption of children by homosexual couples". | The archbishop of Montevideo, Nicolas Cotugno, said before the vote that it would be a "serious error to accept the adoption of children by homosexual couples". |
| "It's not about religion, philosophy or sociology. It's something which is mainly about the respect of human nature itself," he said in a statement quoted by AFP. | "It's not about religion, philosophy or sociology. It's something which is mainly about the respect of human nature itself," he said in a statement quoted by AFP. |
| Under the new law, the power to make decisions on adoptions shifts from judges to the national Institute of Children and Adolescents. | Under the new law, the power to make decisions on adoptions shifts from judges to the national Institute of Children and Adolescents. |
| The country, says the BBC's correspondent in the region, Gary Duffy, has a history of adopting a more liberal stance on social questions. | The country, says the BBC's correspondent in the region, Gary Duffy, has a history of adopting a more liberal stance on social questions. |
| In 1907, for example, it became the first country in the region to approve divorce and women were given the right to vote in 1932. | In 1907, for example, it became the first country in the region to approve divorce and women were given the right to vote in 1932. |
| Last year, gay civil unions were legalised and earlier this year the way was cleared for gay candidates to enter military schools. |