Scottish same-sex couples hoping to adopt or foster have equal rights with straight couples from today (28 September 2009).

The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, which comes into effect today, allows same-sex couples to apply to jointly adopt a child. If the adoption goes through, both the couple become the child’s legal parents.

The Act also allows one partner in a same-sex couple to adopt the other partner’s child. Both the couple are then the child’s legal parents.

Also coming into effect today are the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009, which apply to fostering. The new regulations allow same-sex couples to be considered as foster parents on the same basis as anyone else.

The new legislation applies to couples in civil partnerships and those not in civil partnerships but who are living together in an enduring family relationship.

From today all adoption and fostering agencies are legally obliged to treat same-sex couples and mixed-sex couples equally.

Earlier this year the law on fertility treatment also changed. The new law now allows a lesbian couple to both be registered as the parents of a child born to one of them through fertility treatment. This applies to children conceived on or after April 6th 2009. For children conceived before that date, only the birth mother is automatically registered as parent.

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