The bill was approved for discussion with 56 votes in support, four against, and 16 abstentions.
Opposing the initiative, MP Marija Aušrinė Pavilionienė of the ruling Social Democrats says the proposed bill puts Lithuania in an awkward situation. In her words, Lithuania's president and other officials will have to make explanations during the events of the upcoming presidency over the European Union (EU) Council.
Meanwhile MP Vilija Aleknaitė-Abramikienė, a member of the Conservative party, says the bill does not discriminate against any individuals but rather specifies principles that are important to Lithuania.
The European Law Department under the Ministry of Justice has listed the draft amendments as possibly running counter to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Drafted by 18 parliamentarians, the amendments to the Civil Code and Protection of Children's Rights stipulate that "every child has a birthright to a father and a mother which arises from difference of sexes and complementarity of motherhood and fatherhood."
The bill says that priority in adoption or foster care issues should be placed on a child's need to have parents (foster parents) of both sexes who could assume duties of motherhood and fatherhood in a family.
A new wording proposed to the article of the Civil Code on the basis of family relations introduces the notion of "complementarity of fatherhood and motherhood."
Lithuania does not recognize same-sex partnership.
