Cuba approves law change that opens door to gay marriage, other family rights

HAVANA, July 22 (Reuters) – Cuba’s Countrywide Assembly on Friday accepted a sweeping update of its relatives law which opens the door to enabling gay marriage, greater women’s legal rights, and greater protections for small children, the aged and other household associates.

The new Households Code will be put to a referendum vote on Sept. 25 just after getting debated in local community conferences previously this calendar year, in which organizers mentioned 62{c024931d10daf6b71b41321fa9ba9cd89123fb34a4039ac9f079a256e3c1e6e8} of members expressed their help.

That is rather small by Cuban benchmarks, where the lately-handed new constitution was authorised with 86{c024931d10daf6b71b41321fa9ba9cd89123fb34a4039ac9f079a256e3c1e6e8} of the vote. Policy proposals in earlier referendums have witnessed aid of about 95{c024931d10daf6b71b41321fa9ba9cd89123fb34a4039ac9f079a256e3c1e6e8}.

The code promoted “enjoy, passion, treatment, sensitivity, respect for other individuals and the harmony of our people,” Justice Minister Oscar Manuel Silvera reported, presenting the code for the vote at the National Assembly.

Opponents to the rule improve consist of a lot of church buildings.

“What has been happening is unfortunate for the reason that it is likely to deliver confrontation,” mentioned Methodist pastor Henry Nurse.

“It goes towards what has been taught for many generations of years during the environment about the legitimate standard marriage that is concerning a man and a woman,” he reported.

The new code would legalize exact-sex relationship and civil unions, make it possible for identical-sexual intercourse couples to undertake young children, and endorse equivalent sharing of domestic tasks. It will also permit prenuptial agreements and surrogate pregnancies, nevertheless not for financial gain.

Parents would have “obligation” as a substitute of “custody” of youngsters, and be demanded to be “respectful of the dignity and physical and psychological integrity of little ones and adolescents.”

Cuba is already a regional front-runner in women’s legal rights. Women head up nearly 50{c024931d10daf6b71b41321fa9ba9cd89123fb34a4039ac9f079a256e3c1e6e8} of homes and make up 60{c024931d10daf6b71b41321fa9ba9cd89123fb34a4039ac9f079a256e3c1e6e8} of industry experts, have free of charge access to abortion, and can claim up to two years’ maternity leave.

A Havana few who have lived together for many several years but were never ever equipped to have kids, Ria Acosta Cruz and Gabriela Alfonso, claimed it was their human suitable to marry and undertake kids.

“The chance it provides us is that of relationship. The truth of being in a position to decide together for specified items and specified lawful strategies that we will need as a few and not as unbiased folks,” Alfonso reported.

Acosta said it fulfilled their expectations as a spouse and children.

“We are a marriage. We have the ideas alongside one another, the financial system with each other. It is not truthful that this possibility does not exist,” she stated.

(This story corrects identify of man or woman in paragraph 11 to Ria)

Extra reporting by Marc Frank and Reuters television, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

Our Benchmarks: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.