Proposal
seeks to include right to adopt in registered partnership legislation
A The Green Party has recently brought forward a proposal to change
legislation so that gay and lesbian individuals in the Czech Republic
who live in a registered partnership would be able to adopt children. The
proposal is based on an analysis by the Committee for Sexual Minorities. Within
Europe, individual adoption for gays and lesbians in registered partnerships is
legal in a number of countries, including Germany,
Norway and the UK.
B Lucie Otahálová works for the Government Council for Human Rights,
which has declared the current adoption law an act of discrimination against
same sex couples who live in registered partnerships. She says: “Both married
heterosexual couples and individuals of both orientations can adopt children. A
person who enters a registered partnership is the only individual that is not
legally able to adopt a child.”
C Psychologists have different opinions. Child psychologist Jaroslav
Šturma opposes the proposed change
in the adoption law. “The optimal model is the model of the family that is
based on a relationship between a man and a woman. So I believe that such a law
would be a wrong signal for the public.” But other psychologists cite research
findings that paint a different picture. Dr. Hana Polašková, whose research
activity includes work with families with lesbian partners, says the presence
of parents of both sexes is not crucial
to the welfare of a child. “The general assumption
that children will necessarily do better being raised in the traditional family
lacks empirical support. We can say that children are likely to do well in such
a family environment that is characterized by an absence of conflict, where
there is a high level of cooperation, where there is trust and a lot of warmth
and care and so on.”
D Jarmila Kowolowská is bringing up two girls with her female partner.
She believes that the argument a male role model is necessary to ensure the
positive development of a child is not a strong one. “To me, this is actually
the weakest argument against the adoption of kids in same sex couples. You have
so many other people in your environment; it’s not just your father who
represents a certain role. There are friends, other members of the family,
teachers, people you meet when you exercise a certain hobby. There are so many
people around us that I can’t see how our children would lack a male role
model.”
E While the current proposal would not make it possible for homosexuals
to jointly adopt a child, which they can legally do in EU countries such as Belgium, Spain
and the Netherlands,
it would at least provide a basis for gays and lesbians to live in a registered
partnership and individually adopt children.
assumption – předpoklad
crucial – klíčový
oppose – být proti
1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.
1 Psychologists’ opinions
2 Lucie Otáhalová’s opinion
3 Registered partners could
individually adopt children
4 Kowolowská’s opinion
5 Registered partners might
be able to adopt children according to The Green Party
2) Read the article and answer the questions.
1 What is the article about?
2 Who is Lucie Otáhalová? What
are her opinions?
3 What are psychologists’ opinions?
Do you agree with them? Why?
4 What do you know about
Jarmila Kowolowská?
3) Explain the following words.
1 registered partnership
2 adopt children
3 adoption law
4 bring up
5 jointly
4) Answer the following questions.
Who can adopt a child? What
are conditions for an adoption? What is a registered partnership? What rights
does it secure to the partners?
Adjusted to:
