During a recent press briefing, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar declared his intention to implement sweeping changes to the country's adoption laws. According to reports, Magyar intends to repeal legislation passed by the administration of his predecessor, Viktor Orbán, which imposed stringent restrictions that effectively led to an outright ban on adoption by same-sex couples. The legislation, enacted in 2020, required that all adoption applications by individuals receive approval from the Minister of Family Affairs, a measure that functioned as a tool to block adoptions by same-sex partners. Prior to this change, adoption within the LGBTQ community was possible provided only one of the partners filed the request officially as an individual.
Prime Minister Magyar criticized political involvement in the adoption process, asserting that decisions should be made by professional entities alone. According to him, experts are the only ones capable of evaluating the optimal conditions for a child awaiting adoption. This statement follows the change of government in Hungary, after Magyar won the elections last April, ending 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s rule. Orbán's policy in this area was based on the premise of protecting traditional family values. Within this framework, additional laws were passed, including a ban on changing gender in official documents and restrictions on teaching LGBTQ-related content in schools. Furthermore, Orbán’s government enacted a regulation allowing citizens to anonymously report those deemed to be harming the institution of marriage and family values. This policy led to tensions with European Union institutions and criticism from the European Court of Justice, which found that certain rules introduced by the previous government violated European law and marginalized the LGBTQ community.
Magyar’s planned shift signals an attempt by the new government to restore civil rights that were eroded during the previous period. However, technical details or a precise timetable for implementing the legislative amendment have not yet been published. For the public and legal experts monitoring these developments, this is a significant move that positions Hungary before a renewed debate regarding its constitutional and moral identity in relation to individual rights and the LGBTQ community.