The Law on the Ratification of the European Convention on the Adoption of Children, which allows homosexuals to adopt Ukrainian children, was passed, with 288 deputies voting in its favor.
The convention was passed at the session of the Committee of Ministers of Europe on May 7, 2008. In addition to Ukraine, which joined the convention on April 28, 2009, the document was signed by Belgium, Great Britain, Armenia, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Finland, Montenegro and Spain.
The State Department on Matters of Adoption and Protection of Rights of Children of the Ministry of Education approved the ratification of the convention. “Ukraine brings its law in line with the European standards. Now, we should make appropriate alterations to the Family Code and extend the possibilities of adoption of children,” stated the deputy director of the State Department, Oksana Fylypyshyn. According to her, now in Ukraine about 30 thousand children can be adopted.
The churches are against the legalization of same-sex marriages and the adoption of children by same-sex couples. RISU reported on January 21, 2010, that the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine to PACE to oppose the legalization of same-sex partnerships in Europe, the recognition of their status of “family” and the granting of persons of the same sex the right to jointly be parents to children and adopt each other's children. The council also sent to the Ukrainian authorities an address with a request to consider the position of the Ukrainian public, including churches and religious organizations, whose position contradicts the support by Ukraine at the international level and the introduction in the state of any initiatives aimed at propagating homosexuality and legalizing same-sex relations.