An intervention concerning the Family Support and Substitute Custody Act

On Thursday, 26 May 2011,  the Senate, the upper House of the Polish Parliament, discussed its amendments to the Family Support and Substitute Custody Act. Senators voted for the adoption of an amendment which bans homosexuals from acting as foster family and running family-type children’s homes. The HFHR intervened in this matter with Grzegorz Schetyna, Speaker of the lower House, the Sejm.

The Foundation pointed out that establishing sexual orientation as a criterion for the grant or denial of a permit to provide foster family care is highly doubtful from the constitutional point of view.

The allegations of discrimination may be rebutted only by citing arguments justifying the differential treatment of individuals on objective grounds. However, nothing in the minutes of the Senate meeting suggests that any attempts at providing objective justifications have been made.

In addressing the Speaker of the Sejm, the HFHR expresses its hopes that this discriminatory provision will be dismissed when the Sejm will put the Senate’s amendments to a vote.