'Adopting' your biological child re step-parent adoption?

[Liomsa]

www.change.org/p/minister-at-the-department-of-children-and-youth-affairs-in-the-government-of-ireland-james-reilly-no-biological-mother-should-have-to-sign-their-child-away-call-for-change-in-irish-law?recruiter=390061616&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

Someone drew my attention to this petition to try to change Irish adoption law so that - if I'm understanding this correctly - the biological parent of a child will no longer have to relinquish that status in law to become the adoptive parent of their birth child, in order for the child's step-parent to adopt him/her.

It sounds quite mad to me - is this a weird anomaly in Irish adoption law (which I'm aware is very different to those in this country), or is this also a requirement in the UK? If so, why? Why can't the step-parent adopt their partner's birth child without the biological parent having to jump through what looks on the surface like a very odd hoop? Or is there a logic that's going completely over my head?


(I'm not an adopter, but I've lurked on here in order to be able to support friends going through approval and matching. I think you're an exemplary part of Mn, informed, supportive, generous.)

[Kewcumber]

It used to be the same in the UK too, from memory it changed fairly recently.

[M0rven]

" I think you're an exemplary part of Mn, informed, supportive, generous "

You are clearly a woman of great intelligence and extraordinary perception

[Liomsa]

That's me all over. I do actually mean it, though.

Thanks, Kew, too.