Portuguese President Cavaco Silva has sent the government-approved referendum on same-sex adoption to the Constitutional Court for “preventative checking”.
According to a statement released on the Portuguese Republic’s website, Cavaco Silva has asked the Constitutional Court to assess the constitutionality of the proposal which questions whether same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt or co-adopt children.
The court has been given 25 days (starting on January 28) to consider the two questions included in the referendum.
Either way, the decision to veto the referendum or let it slide will always be in the hands of the President.
The issue – which has sparked controversy – started with a proposal by the youth-branch of the PSD party.
The suggested questions are:
– Do you believe that a partner of the same-sex should be allowed to adopt the child of their partner?
– Do you agree that same-sex couples, married or cohabitating, should be allowed to adopt a child?
Parliament voted for the referendum on January 20, with only the PSD in favour. The party’s coalition partner, the CDS-PP, abstained en-masse, while all remaining opposition parties (PS, PCP, BE and PEV) voted against.
