On Thursday, the Greek Parliament approved a same-sex marriage bill along with the right of same-sex couples to adopt, a move pushed by the government despite strong opposition from the influential Orthodox Church.
The reform passed with 176 votes in favor, 76 against, and 2 abstentions. It secured broad support from several opposition parties, as a portion of the governing conservative New Democracy caucus voted against, abstained, or left the chamber.
With the vote, Greece becomes the 20th European country to legalize same-sex marriage and the first Orthodox Christian nation to do so.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had given MPs a free vote after internal dissent within the party’s more conservative wing over the measure.
Since 2015, Greece has recognized a civil union for same-sex couples, though it did not grant the full rights of marriage to them. The prime minister campaigned on this issue and, after a clear win in the June 2023 elections, has kept that pledge despite strong opposition from the church.
Mitsotakis has repeatedly urged the Orthodox Church to refrain from interfering in state affairs, and during the debate he even cited a biblical passage: “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.”
The government argues the reform closes several legal inconsistencies that affect many families. It also aims to provide greater security for same-sex couples, reducing concerns about child custody in certain scenarios.
“A Day of Joy”
“Today feels like a day of happiness, and it will be celebrated properly,” one couple told reporters after years of legal uncertainty. A person who requested anonymity said they have a child through a fertility treatment, but only one parent is recognized by the state, leaving the other with no parental rights.
The couple has begun arranging their own wedding for early March to ensure both partners can share parental rights and to erase the fear of losing access to their child if something were to happen to one parent.
The process to formalize full parental rights for non-biological parents is expected to be lengthy and may involve legal steps to secure guardianship in certain cases for lesbian couples who already have children.
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups welcomed the historic vote but noted gaps remain, such as the absence of adoption rights for surrogacy arrangements for same-sex couples. The reform also leaves undefined access to certain assisted reproduction practices for same-sex couples, according to experts involved in the drafting and interpretation of the law.
Scholars and activists emphasize that, while the text does not explicitly address every reproductive option, the legislation appears to allow lesbian couples to pursue assisted reproduction under a framework similar to that available to heterosexual couples, within existing proportional provisions.