Family Code: affection, inclusion and respect

 SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, Feb 2 (ACN) Voter José Rafael Ricardo described as a legal opportunity to ponder affection, inclusion and respect for diversity the draft Family Code, submitted since Tuesday to popular consultation across the country.

He praised the way the draft text protects the best interest of the underage and bans any form of discrimination, as befits the principles of the Cuban Revolution.

During one of the first meetings held in the province of Santiago de Cuba to discuss the new legislation, the attendants gave their views on issues related to kinship, especially adoption, the types of filiation and their effects, and the institution of marriage.

José Álvarez, a retired professor, said he respects marriage between any two individuals but decried adoption by homosexual couples, which he believes, based on his experience as a teacher, that it might cause psychological and social damage to the minor.

Another voter, Taimí Rodríguez, held that what really matters is the couple's willingness to educate, care for and love the adopted children, regardless of their parents’ gender.

“Cuban society has a long way to go in terms of recognition of these unions, but there are also parents who neglect and therefore cause even greater harm to their offspring,” she stressed. “The authorization of adoption for same- or different-sex couples should rely on responsibility and love for the task of raising a good person, so it is up to the relevant authorities to be strict with this condition.”

The provision of legal support to assisted filiation is one of the most novel and sensitive topics of the bill approved by the National Assembly of People's Power last December, which paved the way for comments about the possibility for couples to resort to assisted reproduction techniques, one of the pillars of the Maternal and Child Care Program and a major interest of the Cuban State and Government.

Attending these meetings are academics from the Law School of the Universidad de Oriente and jurists from other institutions, who clarified doubts concerning inheritance, parental responsibility, the extension of the communication regime to other family members, and the protection of the elderly.

The specialists called for a thorough study of the Code, since there are other forms of participation available to the population in addition to the consultations in neighborhoods and communities, such as virtual platforms and mobile applications, to help people know the text better before its ultimate approval.