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The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, and the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009, came into effect on 28th September 2009. That removed the discrimination from the law on adoption and fostering of children. Most of the discrimination in the law on fertility treatment was removed when parts of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 came into effect on 6th April 2009. That introduced new rules which recognise the same-sex partner of a woman who has a child through fertility treatment, as the child's parent. More details are on our information page on parenting law.

There is still one area of discrimination - same-sex couples are not yet recognised by the law on surrogate pregnancy. That discrimination will disappear when the last parts of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 come into effect in April 2010.

Adoption law

Previously, under the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978, only a married couple could apply to jointly adopt a child. Civil partners, and cohabiting same-sex or mixed-sex couples, were not able to apply to adopt jointly.

The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 was passed by the Scottish Parliament in December 2006, and came into effect on 28th September 2009. It removed the discrimination against same-sex couples from adoption law. It enables same-sex couples to apply to adopt a child jointly, whether the couple are civil partners, or 'cohabiting partners' living together in an enduring family relationship without registering a civil partnership.

The new Act also enables the same-sex partner of a parent (it can be their civil partner or their cohabiting partner) to adopt their partner's child. Our information page on parenting law gives more details.

In May 2006, the Equality Network gave evidence on the Act to the Scottish Parliament, and we responded to the Scottish Government's consultation on various regulations that support the Act.


Fostering law

Previously, under the Fostering of Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996, a child could be fostered in Scotland with a married couple or with an unmarried cohabiting mixed-sex couple, but not with a same-sex couple.

In 2008 and 2009, the Scottish Government consulted twice on proposed new fostering regulations. The Equality Network responded to the consultations, welcoming the new regulations. They came into effect, as the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009, on 28th September 2009. This ended the discrimination against LGBT people, so that same-sex couples are longer be banned from being foster parents. Local authorities must now assess same-sex couples as potential foster parents, without discrimination.

Our information page on parenting law gives more details.


Fertility law

The parts of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 which came into effect in April 2009 remove discrimination against same-sex couples from the law on fertility treatment. The new law means that the partner of a woman who receives fertility treatment at a licensed clinic from 6th April 2009, will be recognised as the child's legal parent. Also, if a woman in a civil partnership conceives by do-it-yourself donor insemination on or after 6th April 2009, her civil partner is the child's legal parent and the sperm donor is not a legal parent. Our information page on parenting law gives more details.

In April 2010 the rest of the 2008 Act is expected to come into effect, and this will enable same-sex couples who arrrange a pregnancy by surrogacy (that is, where a woman has a child on their behalf) to become the parents of the child using the 'parental order' system, which is in effect a simplified form of adoption.