Portugal may raise the age of children for adoption

Portugal pode aumentar idade de crianças para adopção

On Thursday, the Portuguese Parliament is debating the possibility of extending the adoption of children up to the age of 18, as well as other changes to the adoption process, with bills being considered by almost all opposition parties.

The Left Bloc (BE), the Communist Party (PCP), the People-Animals-Nature party (PAN), the Free Party and the Liberal Initiative (IL) are presenting bills to raise the age at which a child can be adopted to 18, which is currently 15.

In its bill, the BE points out that the age limit imposed by the law "is essentially based on the anachronistic and inhumane idea that if a child is over 15, it will be more difficult to create bonds similar to parenthood. This means that, in the legislator's view, a child over the age of 15 is unable to love, bond and create ties, and therefore 'does not deserve' to be adopted and have a family."

"On the other hand, the law assumes that no citizen is willing to adopt a child over the age of 15, which is unacceptable," says the party.

He also adds that this "limitation" has meant that children between the ages of 16 and 18 who have been given up for adoption are left in "limbo", since they are not adoptable but are not yet of legal age, "condemning them to institutionalization".

The Communist Party also points out that in the eyes of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as Portuguese law, all people under the age of 18 are considered children.

She points out that the adoption law only provides for one exception, which accepts the adoption of minors up to the age of 18 if they are not financially independent and if they are "children of the adopter's spouse" or have been "entrusted to the adopters before the age of 15".

"This situation discriminates against children and young people who have the right to be adopted and who are prevented by the law from doing so, being condemned, from the age of 15, to institutionalization. This penalizes those who should be protected the most, disrespecting the rights of the child," criticizes the PCP.

It also points out that, at the very least, the current law allows two siblings to be separated if, at the time of adoption, one is 15 and the other 16. "There are known cases in which this has happened," the party assures.

PAN's intention to raise the age of children who can be adopted to 18 is accompanied by the argument that the current legal framework "results in a clear injustice", which "discriminates against and penalizes children aged 16 and 17 in an incomprehensible way".

For IL, 30 years after the maximum age for children to be adopted was set at 15, it's time to reflect on the rationale behind this choice and "adapt the law to a contemporary vision of family law, which prioritizes the rights of children and young people, since this legislative choice has no scientific backing".

Livre, for its part, cites the 2021 Annual Characterization Report of the Foster Care Situation for Children and Young People (CASA), which states that "the greatest demand placed on the foster care system is to find answers for young people aged between 12 and 17", who represent "a weight of 71% of foster care situations".

The party is also presenting a bill to lower the minimum age of those who can adopt to 25, for these people to be able to live in a de facto union and for the child to be able to give their consent to the adoption from the age of eight and not 12, as the current law defines.

At the same time, Parliament is also debating another PCP bill, which was presented in the previous legislature, so that young people over the age of 18 with a promotion and protection measure can re-enter the system in cases where they ask to leave and then regret it. This decision is, so far, irreversible.

The Chega party has a bill to amend the Civil Code, the Legal Framework for the Adoption Process and the Labor Code, with a view to reducing the number of institutionalized children and guaranteeing a swift and successful adoption process.

The most recent statistics on adoption in Portugal, compiled by the Social Security Institute and referring to December 31, 2021, showed that there were 226 adoptable children and 1,419 candidates for adoption, which is six times more candidates than children. That year, 125 children were adopted.

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