In Portugal, same-sex couples must fight for family Matilde Custódio, 35 and Olga Miranda, 31, lived together for 11 years before deciding to have a child by artificial insemination. A March 14 decision reversed a previous judgement allowing same-sex couples to adopt. Portugal's current gay marriage law, passed in January 2010, specifically excludes a homosexual couple's right to adopt, making Olga's adoption of 3-year-old Carolina, Matilde's biological daughter, impossible
Cátia Bruno GlobalPost, April 30 2014
Matilde Custódio and Olga Miranda will never forget the date. A Friday last month, the 14th of March. It's the date Portuguese legislators decided Olga could not be registered as one of the official parents of her partner Matilde’s biological daughter, Carolina.
One of countless same-sex couples with children who are affected by the decision, Matilde and Olga have been living together for the past 11 years.
It was around lunchtime and the final bill on co-parental adoption for same-sex couples was up for a vote by the Portuguese Parliament. The proposal was simple, but the bill did not pass. The parliament voted 111 against the legislation, and just 107 in favor, with five MPs abstaining.