Gay couple become first to adopt from abroad

A couple in Aarhus have become the first gay parents in Denmark to adopt a child from abroad.

 

Danish law has granted homosexuals the same adoption rights as heterosexuals since 2010, but until now there had been no successful adoptions from abroad. According to LGBT Denmark, other countries’ sceptism towards gay parents has made it incredibly difficult for homosexual Danes to adopt. 

 

But Rasmus Holm and Thomas Møller Larsen have now made a bit of Danish history by adopting their daughter Le from South Africa. 

 

“Previously we supported the notion that it was basically impossible for homosexuals to adopt,” LGBT’s Søren Laursen told Politiken. “But this shows that we were wrong and that there is clearly a need to be more nuanced in our messaging.”

 

New father Rasmus Holm said he hopes his family can provide inspiration for the LGBT community.

 

“I think the gays and lesbians out there who want to adopt should be told that it can actually be done,” he told Politiken.

 

The vast majority of Danish adoptions involve children from overseas. Danish adoptions have plummeted by over 80 percent over the past nine years, in part due to a series of problems discovered in countries like Nigeria and Ethiopia, where women were thought to be illegally selling their children for adoption.