The Czech Republic denies marriage to same-sex couples and does not recognize them as the full-fledged families they consider themselves to be.
Without the possibility of marriage, only the biological parent has a legal relationship with the children in these families.
“We asked for joint foster care of a child. The judge explained that based on the law, it was not possible as that option is only for married couples, therefore in our case the child could only be in the custody of one of us.
If something happens to me, the court would have to review the case again as if he were only my child.
That's a lot of uncertainty for the kid.
Petr has no rights to the child, even though he has already spent six years with him, took care of him and has a strong relationship with him.”
Petr & Pavel
“There is no reason why we should not have the same rights and obligations as other taxpayers. We cannot jointly tax our incomes or inherit each other's property.
Another indisputable advantage would be a common surname, which would make it easier for us in the context of our son.
We want to live the same full and contented life as other families, while being protected by the law just like them.”
Jana & Mirka
"We would like to marry, not register like cars. We are both mothers of our son and want to be seen as such in front of the state as well."
Maire & Anna-Marie
“We do not see potential in registered partnership. We are waiting for marriage, to have the same rights as everyone else.
We both want to be officially recognized as full-fledged mothers to our son.
We both want to be able to make decisions on the behalf of our child.”
Veronika & Adéla
“We are sometimes viewed as family, sometimes separately. Marriage would unify and simplify it.
It would help us in terms of legal protection of our children, the right of inheritance, in the extreme case an orphan's pension, and other uncertainties associated with the possible death of a biological parent.”
Eva & Lenka
“During COVID, various measures were put in place, one of which included a ban on the presence of all people, except fathers, in delivery rooms.
We had an approaching due date and the fear that both of us would not be allowed in the delivery room made us very uncertain.
For Hanka as a first-time mother, the idea of my absence was very stressful.”
Veronika & Hanka
“Only the biological mother has rights to our child. From the state’s point of view, the second mother is "NOTHING" even though she has been a loving parent to our daughter since conception.
We feel like second-class citizens. We have the same responsibilities but the rights are still missing.”
Alena & Petra
