The Mitsotakis government is reportedly considering the timing for tabling a draft bill to Parliament regarding the “hot button” issue of legalizing same-sex marriage in the country.
According to reports aired by the Athens-based Mega Channel on Friday, no specific dates or timetable has been selected so far, while the same reports point to an ongoing debate within the prime minister’s inner circle over the same-sex marriage issue and the accompanying prospect of legalizing adoption by same-sex couples.
A meeting was cited this week between Minister of State Makis Voridis and PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ top aide, Alexis Patelis, over the contentious issue. Voridis, whose political beginnings were on the far right, is among the most prominent Cabinet sceptics vis-à-vis the prospect of revising the law governing marriage.
One “thorny” issue facing the government with the prospective legislation is the status of children born abroad to same-sex couples, but who in Greece can be declared by only one of the two parents.
Under current Greek civil law, if one of the two same-sex parents of a child dies, then relatives of the latter can seek custody of the minor.
Beyond the issue of same-sex unions, another issue expected to be resolved in any forthcoming draft bill is the legal status of frozen ova (taken from a female’s ovaries). Under current law, a wife can legally implant her frozen ova in case her husband passes away. However, if the wife dies, then the widower does not have the legal right to seek the implantation of the ova in another woman.
