Why Human Rights Watch is worried about Ecuador’s LGBTQ+ adoption rules

Ecuador’s new adoption law is drawing strong criticism from Human Rights Watch (HRW), which warns that it discriminates against lesbian, gay and bisexual prospective parents and endangers the rights of transgender children. The Organic Reform Law of Various Legal Bodies for the Streamlining of Adoption took effect on 14 August after passing the National Assembly 118–0, with 25 abstentions, and receiving President Daniel Noboa’s assent.

The reform aims to speed up adoption processes and reduce the time children spend in institutional care, Jurist reports. HRW argues that specific provisions undermine that objective by excluding capable LGBT adults from becoming parents and by placing some families under heightened legal risk.

The law expands an existing restriction on same-sex couples by explicitly requiring individual adopters to be heterosexual. Previously, the Children and Adolescents Code prioritized heterosexual married couples but did not expressly bar single applicants based on sexual orientation, leaving space for gay and bisexual individuals to adopt as single parents.

HRW also criticizes new rules on parental authority that list parental support for medical, surgical or pharmaceutical procedures to “modify the biological sex” of a child as conduct that may justify terminating parental authority. If both parents lose that authority and no eligible relatives take over, the child may become adoptable. HRW warns that this may deter families of transgender children from seeking medical advice or psychosocial support for fear of state intervention, affecting young people’s rights to health, identity and family life.

These changes come shortly after Ecuador’s Constitutional Court allowed a 17-year-old to change gender information on identity documents following an individualized assessment of maturity, informed and persistent consent, family backing and psychosocial evidence. Ecuador’s courts have recognized protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and linked gender identity to privacy and free personal development.

HRW calls on authorities to amend the law so that adoption decisions rest on a case-by-case assessment of a prospective parent’s capacity and the best interests of each child, rather than sexual orientation.

Why this matters for the workplace

For employers and business leaders, this debate is not abstract. Legal frameworks that restrict LGBT parenting and create additional risks for families of transgender children shape the climate in which employees live and work. Inclusive companies depend on talent feeling secure about their family status, relocation options and long-term plans.

Policies and cultures that affirm LGBT parents, transgender young people and their caregivers help organizations attract and retain diverse professionals, safeguard well-being and meet DEI expectations.

To take practical action and connect with an international community committed to LGBT inclusion at work, employers and professionals can sign up for myGwork and access tools, networks and expertise to advance equality in their own workplaces.

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