
The highest court in Italy has made it easier for same-sex couples to adopt each other’s biological children. A decision by the court, however, does not make the process of adopting each other’s children automatic for same-sex couples.
The Cassation Court ruling, which came on Wednesday, bolstered lower courts’ rulings on the issue of so-called “step-child adoption” in Italy. The decision has been hailed by Italian LGBT rights groups, who also criticised it for not going far enough to automatically recognise LGBT families. The organisations said the goal would be to have the biological child of a same-sex partner to be recognised from birth if a couple are in a same-sex union.