The wide possibility of adoption by homosexual couples compared to recent decisions of the superior courts

Abstract

This paper investigates the possibility of joint adoption by households formed by people of the same sex, according to the Supreme Court's ADPF 132 and ADI 4277, which attaches to these unions the legal effects of a stable union. It is intended, in this paper, to present the institution of adoption in Brazil from the pluralist conception of family and to analyze the scope of the decision of the Supreme Court, arguing some votes considered controversial. The contemporary family formation was also discussed, trying to define a concept of family that is close to the ideals of the democratic rule of law. The article will try to reread the family from the constitutional principles, in particular the principles of human dignity, freedom, equality, non-discriminatory treatment, the plurality of family forms. It will be defended that the family formed by homosexual couples deserves the same treatment, concerning union estability, which is observed with the heterosexual couples. The adoption is presented as a means of allowing the development of the child in a healthy familiar environment, valuing the principle of the best interests of the child.