The Irish Independent reports this week that a lesbian couple in Ireland are challenging adoption law in the country.

In Ireland, the law regarding homosexual adoption is currently the same as that in the UK - couples can only adopt jointly if they are married, so same-sex relationships are excluded.

When a gay couple adopt, they can apply in only one name, which affects their rights as parents of the child. If the named partner should die, for example, the other may have problems securing custody of the adopted child.

The couple, who live in Cork, hope to put pressure on the Irish government by applying to adopt a child (who they currently foster) in both of their names. They insist that they will only adopt in this way. Their stand will highlight the international context of gay adoption law.

In England and Wales later this year two bills come into force that will mean unmarried and gay couples can adopt in the names of both partners. Adoption-net has followed the drawn-out fight to get these laws through Parliament since 2002.

The Scottish Parliament is on course to pass laws that will bring it into line with England and Wales, though senior Catholic in the country Cardinal Keith O'Brien has recently called the idea a "distorted social experiment."

"Homosexual unions are notoriously fragile and unstable," O'Brien has claimed in the past.

The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network in Ireland believes their government should make the same changes that the UK has, which allow unmarried couples, both heterosexual and homosexual, to adopt. Irish Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan for now insists that he has no such plans.

To read the original article, visit: Irish Independent