In Greece, the parliament passed a law legalizing LGBTQIA marriage, making it the first majority Orthodox Christian country to establish marriage equality for all.
The decision, supported by 176 out of 300 lawmakers in parliament and with 76 against, has been called a “milestone for human rights” by Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece – a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values,” Mitsotakis said in a post on Twitter/X following the vote.
Civil partnerships have been allowed in Greece since 2015. But that partnership only granted legal guardianship to the biological parents of children in those relationships, discriminating against their partners who are only recognized as legal guardians.
With the new law, LGBTQIA couples will now have the right to adopt and receive full parental recognition.
However, they will still not be allowed to have a baby through a surrogate, even if the new law will recognize the status of existing offspring, including those adopted or born to surrogates abroad.