Switzerland becomes the XNUMXth country in the world to authorize same-sex marriage
Switzerland approved yesterday in a referendum the equal marriage. The measure, backed by a 64% of the votes, will allow homosexual couples adopt children and, in the case of single women or lesbian couples, have access to Assisted reproduction. The initiative has reached the polls after seven years of political and parliamentary debates on the need to recognize same-sex couples rights and duties that heterosexual couples already have.
It becomes the thirtieth country in the world to take this step and thus leaves the small group of countries in Western Europe who have not yet legalized gay marriage: Italy, Greece y Liechtenstein. In these three countries, however, there are different types of legal figures that recognize these unions. The Netherlands it was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage twenty years ago. On Spain, Congress of Deputies approved it in 2005.
Registered alliances
So far, Switzerland recognized the union of two people of the same sex through the calls registered alliances, a figure approved in 2007 and that has since guaranteed rights such as choosing a common surname, accessing the inheritance of the spouse or widow's income, among others. Since 2018 it also allowed them to adopt the couple's son or daughter.
From now on, couples of married women and those who decide to have a child alone will be able to access a sperm donation in Switzerland, where anonymous donations are prohibited. That means that the son or daughter will be able to know the identity of the donor when they turn 18, although the two women will be recognized as mothers from birth.
