Ecuador's National Assembly has enacted a sweeping new adoption law that bars gay couples and single LGBTQ+ people from adopting altogether, and rights groups warn it also opens the door to stripping custody from parents who support a transgender child's care.

What the Law Actually Does

Ecuador's constitution already limited adoption to different-sex couples, but it said nothing about the sexual orientation of single applicants. The new law closes that gap explicitly, declaring that even a single person adopting a child must be straight. It was framed by lawmakers as a technical fix meant to speed up an overburdened foster system and get kids into permanent homes faster, a goal advocacy groups say is legitimate on its own terms.

The problem, critics say, is how lawmakers chose to pursue it. The Ecuadorian LGBT Federation pointed out the absurdity of enforcing a heterosexuality requirement: institutions would now have to somehow verify a single applicant's sexual orientation before approving an adoption, a standard with no clear legal mechanism and enormous potential for invasive scrutiny.

Being heterosexual does not demonstrate parental fitness.
Ecuadorian LGBT Federation

A Custody Trap for Families With Trans Kids

Beyond the adoption ban, the law creates a mechanism for judges to terminate parental authority over parents found to be

Source: LGBTQ Nation

Cover photo: Sora Shimazaki / Pexels

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Ecuador’s New Adoption Law Bars LGBTQ+ People, Threatens Trans Kids’ Families