OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Wednesday, 9.00PM.
A BILL which aims to give natural fathers the right to participate in deciding whether a child born out of wedlock can be given up for adoption has received the support of all parties in Parliament.
The Adoption Matters Amendment Bill is not so much about equality between men and women as it is about the rights of children to survival and development, Welfare Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said on Wednesday.
The Bill, which also gives natural fathers the right to adopt their own children born out of wedlock, resulted from a judgment handed down by the Constitutional Court in the Lawrie Fraser case on February 5 last year.
The court ruled that denying natural fathers their right to consent, or withhold consent, to the adoption of a child born out of wedlock was unconstitutional.
In terms of the Bill, such fathers will now have the right to decide on whether they consent to the adoption of their children or not, provided that they register their acknowledgement of paternity with the department of home affairs. The Bill excludes natural fathers of children born as a result of rape or incestuous or abusive relationships.