The Hungarian government on Tuesday introduced legislation that would ban adoption for same-sex couples.
Under the new legislation, adoption will only be legal for same-sex couples if one partner applies as a single person. The legislation will only recognize families between married partners where the mother is a female, and the father is male.
Justice Minister Judit Varga submitted the amendment to parliament. Her party also submitted an amendment requiring children to be raised with a Christian interpretation of gender roles.
The new amendment follows Hungary’s March amendment to ban legal recognition of transgender and intersex citizens, only recognizing a person’s gender as the gender assigned at birth.
Hungary has increased its anti-LBGT sentiment during the pandemic, claiming the new laws protect children’s rights.
Human rights groups expressed their outrage, urging the government to repeal these new amendments.
“International human rights treaties that Hungary is party to clearly prohibit any forms of discrimination on the grounds of sex, gender orientation and sexual identity,” Amnesty International said in their statement. “Politicians, including the Speaker of the Parliament, and certain public figures have increasingly targeted LGBTI people with homophobic and discriminatory comments.”