Uruguay passes same-sex adoption law

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (CNN) -- Uruguay became the first Latin American country to allow same-sex couples to adopt children after the Senate voted to approve a bill modifying the country's adoption statute.

"It is a right for the boys and the girls, not a right for the adults," Sen. Margarita Percovich said after the vote on Wednesday. "It streamlines the adoption process and does not discriminate."

The expected Senate approval followed the lower chamber of Congress' passage of the bill last month.

The law will pave the way for gays and lesbians to start a family, Daniel Alonso, a resident of the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, told CNN.

"You have plans to form a family, to adopt. When you have a law that protects you, it makes you want to have a child," he said. "You feel part of society."

The adoption measure would be the most recent of progressive laws passed with the backing of President Tabare Vazquez.

Last year, lawmakers approved a measure allowing children aged 12 or older to change their names, a measure aimed at transgender or transsexual youths.

Uruguay also authorized same-sex civil unions last year, setting the stage for the current adoption law.

The measure was not without opponents among conservatives and the clergy.

Last month, Archbishop Nicolas Cotugno of Montevideo, released a statement warning of consequences for society should the law pass, the Catholic News Agency reported.

"The adoption of children by homosexual couples is not a question of religion, philosophy or sociology. It has to do with respect for human nature itself," he said, according to CNA. "To accept the adoption of children by homosexual couples is to go against human nature itself, and consequently, it is to go against the fundamental rights of the human being as a person."

Journalist Dario Klein contributed to this report.

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