What applies internationally to same-sex marriage and childbearing
It was October 1, 1999 when, for the first time in history, the union of same-sex couples acquired legal status in the form of a cohabitation agreement. Two years later, in 2001, the Netherlands legalized the equality of citizens in marriage, to be followed by 24 countries in Europe, including 15 member states of the European Union.
In the Americas, the first same-sex marriage took place much earlier, in 1971, when a couple from Minnesota obtained a marriage license using a legal loophole. Their marriage was officially recognized in 2019 after a long legal battle and preceded in 2015 by the Supreme Court's historic decision to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the United States. A decade earlier, in 2005, Canada was the first country in the Western Hemisphere to legalize same-sex marriage.
As time passes, more and more countries recognize same-sex marriage as a human right. It is currently legal in 35 countries with a total population of 1.3 billion, about 17% of the world's population. Internationally, opinion polls show a steady upward trend in support for the recognition of same-sex marriage. According to the Pew Research Center, the majority of countries that have legalized same-sex marriage are in Western Europe. These are: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Slovenia, Portugal, Norway, Netherlands, Malta, Luxembourg, Ireland, Iceland, Estonia, Denmark, Belgium, Austria and Andorra. The difference with Eastern Europe is significant, on a global scale "the respect and recognition of the rights of the LGBTI+ community goes hand in hand with the democratic sign of societies", reports Freedom House, an American civil rights organization.
The framework for procreation by same-sex couples is more complex. Initially, the legalization of marriage in European countries was not accompanied by the recognition of this right, but in the last decade things have changed. Of course, differences remain regarding the issue of medically assisted reproduction and surrogacy for male couples. For example, surrogacy is legal in Belgium, which is not the case in France, Germany, Spain and Sweden. In France, female couples won the right to artificial insemination with a donor only in 2021. Few countries extend the right to surrogacy to same-sex couples, such as South Africa, Israel and Cuba.
Community legislation does not mandate legislation in favor of marriage or procreation, however a series of Commission directives and European Parliament resolutions encourage member states to refrain from any form of discrimination that the LGBTI+ community may experience. In 2021, the European Court of Justice ruled that same-sex couples and their children must be recognized as a family in all EU member states, even in countries whose laws do not recognize marriage equality, in order to respect the right of child in free circulation. The decision came after Bulgaria refused to grant identity documents to the daughter of a same-sex couple.
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