Civil groups protest government’s bill tightening adoption rules

Eleven civil organisations protested the government’s new bill that would tighten rules on adoption in a joint statement on Friday, saying it would lead to more children having to grow up in state care and being adopted by foreign couples from abroad.

In their statement issued on the occasion of World Children’s Day, the civil groups said the Hungarian government’s bill would make it impossible for single people as well as unmarried and same-sex couples to adopt a child, thereby reducing the number of potential adoptions in the country.

Citing experts, the statement said state child-care homes were incapable of providing children the attention and emotional security they require for a healthy development, noting also the issue of abuse in certain homes.