Greek prime minister says legislation allowing same-sex marriage will be presented soon
Greece’s center-right government will soon submit legislation allowing gay marriages, despite reservations from its own lawmakers and the Orthodox Church.
ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s center-right government will soon submit legislation allowing same-sex civil marriages, despite reservations from its own lawmakers and the country’s influential Orthodox Church, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday.
But he stressed that the proposed law would not extend the right to parenthood through surrogate mothers to same-sex couples — an issue that has divided Greek society.
“What we are going to legislate is equality in marriage,” Mitsotakis said. “We will remove any discrimination concerning sexual orientation in the issue of marital relationship.”
But, he added, “we won’t change the law on assisted parenthood. The idea of women who are turned into child-producing machines on demand ... that is not going to happen.”
Several lawmakers from the right wing of the governing New Democracy party have expressed opposition to any overhaul of Greece’s marriage and parenthood laws to include same-sex couples.
Rating: 5