Beyond the Nuclear: The Face of Modern Adoption (Ulster Style)

A Judge in Belfast's High Court decided last month that unmarried and same-sex couples in Northern Ireland should be allowed to adopt children. In so doing Mr Justice Seamus Treacy ruled that an adoption law from 1987 that discriminated against both groups was unlawful and amounted to a breach of human rights.

Prior to this decision only married couples and single adults were eligible to adopt in Northern Ireland. This was despite there being 2 500 children there in State care awaiting placement with loving families - irrespective of the adults' sexual orientation.

This change was intended to bring Northern Ireland's adoption policy into line with the rest of the United Kingdom where gay and unmarried heterosexual couples have been recognised as perfectly suitable adoptive parents for many years now.

But any reservations that Northern Ireland's adoption practices might be about to enter the 21st Century were it seems premature. Treacy J's triumph of common-sense was short-lived...

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