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HAVANA, Cuba (AP) \u2014 The draft of a new family code for Cuba released Wednesday proposes allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as giving children greater participation in decisions that affect them.<\/p>\n

The preliminary draft, which must be approved by Cuba\u2019s parliament then go to a grassroots plebiscite, comes almost three years after the island\u2019s communist government backed away from enshrining gay marriage protections in its new constitution in the face of opposition.<\/p>\n

Evangelical groups objected to the constitutional proposal to eliminate the description of marriage as a union of a man and woman, and change it to the union of \u201ctwo people … with absolutely equal rights and obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe consider this version to be consistent with the constitutional text, and develop and update the various legal-family institutions in correspondence with the humanistic nature of our social process,\u201d Justice Minister \u00d3scar Silveira Mart\u00ednez said in announcing the draft. <\/p>\n

Evangelical groups, however, are expected to object to the change in the family code draft.<\/p>\n

Both Mart\u00ednez and Yamila Gonz\u00e1lez Ferrer, vice president of the National Union of Jurists of Cuba, emphasized that the proposed family code is much broader than an authorization of same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt protects all expressions of family diversity and the right of each person to establish a family in coherence with the constitutional principles of plurality, inclusion, and human dignity,\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez said. <\/p>\n

The draft, which has more than 480 articles, was drawn up by a team of 30 experts and will be posted on the Justice Ministry\u2019s website to collect opinions. It will then go to lawmakers \u2014 likely in December \u2014 then to a popular referendum possibly next year. <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Cuba\u2019s current family code dates from 1975 and has been overtaken by new family structures and social changes, legal experts say.<\/p>\nFavorite <\/i><\/button>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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