Swiss parliament against banning international adoptions

Stopping international adoptions: an idea that should be abandoned Keystone-SDA

Parliament has decided that Switzerland must continue to authorise international adoptions.

The House of Representative is adamant about maintaining international adoptions. It refused to give the government the choice between a ban and a better regulated adoption law, as proposed by the Senate in December. The Senate will now have the final say.

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In principle, both chambers are in agreement: Switzerland must continue to authorise international adoptions. However, the Senate had decided to amend the original motion by giving the government more flexibility.

The government was to modify its proposal and present two variants on which Parliament could vote: a halt to international adoptions, or a reform involving a reduction in the number of countries cooperating, including organisational reform.

However, the House of Representatives felt it necessary to make it clear that a ban on international adoptions would not receive a majority. It therefore adopted the motion in its original version by 130 votes to 35, confirming a first vote in 2025.

In the consultation draft, the government was asked to focus exclusively on revising adoption law and abandon the option of banning international adoptions.

The head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police, Beat Jans, has spoken out against this restrictive scenario. The government wants the debate to be conducted in society, the minister stressed. “Discussions with the cantons have shown us that nothing should be rushed,” he said. “The final decision will in any case be taken by Parliament.”

Strong opposition

In January 2025, the government announced that it wanted to put an end to international adoptions in order to combat the abuses that exist in some cases. The government’s announcement went down very badly with section of society and the political parties.

A petition entitled “Save international adoptions” was submitted to the Federal Chancellery, with more than 10,000 signatures collected in one month, according to its authors.

Adapted from French by AI/ac

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