The Greek Parliament passed a significant social amendment on Thursday evening, legalizing same-sex marriage and allowing for the adoption of children. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a conservative, supported the amendment, describing it as a “radical shift in human rights.”
With 176 out of 254 attending deputies voting in favor, and 76 opposing, with two abstentions, the law was successfully passed after two days of sometimes intense debates in Parliament.
Following the law’s approval, Greece becomes the thirty-seventh country globally, the seventeenth within the European Union, and the first Orthodox Christian nation to legalize adoption by same-sex couples. This decision was met with opposition from the influential Orthodox Church in the country. The passage of the bill was assured due to the backing of several left-leaning parties.