For the first time ever, a Danish gay couple has adopted a child from abroad. Rasmus Holm and Thomas Møller Lassen, a gay couple from Aarhus, recently returned from South Africa with their nine-month-old daughter, Le.

Equal footing
Most children adopted by Danish parents come from abroad. In 2010, Danish law put gay and lesbian couples on an equal footing with heterosexuals when it came to adoption rights.

Scepticism towards homosexual unions by the home countries of the adoptees have slowed down the process.

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Søren Laursen, the head of the national association for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons was pleasantly surprised by the news.

“Previously we had resigned ourselves to the idea that it is virtually impossible for homosexuals to adopt,” Laursen told Politiken.

“This shows that we may have been wrong and gives us reason to consider the possibility with a bit more optimism.”

Equality minister Manu Sareen said that he hoped more couples will now be able to adopt.

“Of course I hope that more couples are allowed to experience the great joy of being parents and to giving a child a good life,” Sareen told Politiken.

The dark side
The dark side of this seemingly positive development is that the South African government allows gays to adopt only special needs children. Those with HIV, diabetes, cleft palates or other maladies are the only children available to homosexual couples.

Lassen and Holm were forced to choose their child under those circumstances.

"It feels morally wrong and morbid that one is forced to sit and pick the disease of their future child," Lassen told Politiken.

Laursen called the practice “sick logic”.