Region in Spain to allow adoption by gays

Spain's semi-autonomous Catalonia region has said it is planning to give gay couples the right to adopt children, Agence France-Presse reports. The ruling left-wing coalition in Catalonia, the northeastern region bordering France, said on Wednesday it would modify an existing law that allows gays to "lodge," but not legally to adopt, children. The proposed law follows the lead of three of Spain's 16 other autonomous regions, which have similarly modified national law, Catalan health official Anna Simo told the regional parliament in Barcelona. It is expected to pass easily through the region's parliament but encounter opposition from authorities in Madrid, who consider such laws a derogation of national authority. The laws already passed in the northern regions of Aragon, the Basque Country, and Navarre are currently blocked while the national parliament brings the issue before Spain's constitutional court.