New Ecuador law bans single LGBTQ+ adopters and threatens parents of trans children

Ecuador has passed a new anti-gay law banning single LGBTQ+ adopters and threatening the rights of parents with trans children.

The legislation came into force on 14 August 2026, aiming to speed up adoption and reduce the time children spend in institutional care. However, the law has also raised serious concerns over its impact on the LGBTQ+ community.

Under the new law, Ecuador explicitly prevents single lesbian, gay and bisexual people from adopting children, requiring them to be heterosexual. Ecuador already bans same-sex couples from adopting, despite marriage equality being legal in the country.

Impact on parents of trans youth

The law has also introduced new ground on which parents of trans children could potentially lose their parental rights. Specifically, the law states that supporting or promoting medical, surgical or pharmaceutical procedures intended to “modify the biological sex” of a child can be used as grounds for the judicial removal of parental authority. That child could potentially become eligible for adoption.

Cristian González Cabrera of Human Rights Watch criticised the legislation, stating: “Improving the adoption system is a legitimate legislative goal, but it should not be used as a pretext to entrench discrimination and undermine children’s health.

“By legislating on the basis of bias and misinformation rather than evidence, Ecuadorian lawmakers are endangering children and perpetuating stereotypes based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.”

When was the anti-gay Ecuador adoption law introduced?

The legislation was passed unanimously by those voting in Ecuador’s National Assembly. Lawmakers approved it on 28 July by 118 votes to zero, with 25 abstentions, before President Daniel Noboa gave his assent on 13 August.

The new adoption law comes amid wider restrictions and political opposition to transgender rights in Ecuador.

In March 2025, President Daniel Noboa committed his government to excluding what it called “gender ideology” from educational materials and preventing “sex changes” for children.

Trans rights in Ecuador

However, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court has also recently affirmed the rights of transgender youth. In March and April 2026, the court ruled that officials cannot automatically prevent people under 18 from changing the gender marker on their identity documents solely because of their age. This prompted a National Assembly to begin an “oversight” process examining their effects.

Trans adults can change their name and gender marker on official documents without requiring surgery, witnesses or a waiting period. Their rights are also protected by Ecuador’s Constitution, which explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

For transgender young people, this leaves them with legal protections affirmed by the Constitutional Court but facing continued political opposition and uncertainty over whether those rights will be fully implemented.