September 25, 2022

Havana, Cuba — Cubans are legally redefining what it means to be a family.

Millions of Cubans are expected to vote Sunday to revamp the country’s “Families Code,” which, if passed, would represent the most significant expansion of rights for LGBTIQ+ Cubans to date.

Replacing legislation from 1975, the new Families Code would give Cuba some of the hemisphere’s most progressive laws on LGBTIQ+ rights and legally guarantee inclusion and respect for diversity in all family-related matters.

It would also ensure the right to marriage, adoption and assisted reproduction for same-sex couples.

LGBTIQ+ people in Cuba have historically faced discrimination, but strides toward equal rights have been made in recent decades.  

A 2019 constitutional reform that made discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity illegal in Cuba paved the way for significant advances reflected in the new legislation.

Drafted through a participatory process, the Families Code has gone through multiple versions in the last year based on nationwide popular consults which took place through thousands of neighborhood meetings in addition to feedback from dozens of experts and organizations.

Between February and April, millions of Cubans participated in community meetings to debate the code, resulting in hundreds of thousands of proposals, according to Cuban electoral authorities.

Nearly half of all the code’s articles were changed as a result of citizen feedback.

A final version of the legislation was approved in July by Cuba’s parliament. Cubans abroad began voting last week and Cubans on the island will vote at thousands of polling places in the national referendum today.

Some fundamentalist Christian groups have opposed the Families Code and campaigned against the recognition of the rights it would guarantee.

However, government statistics have indicated that most Cubans support the updated legislation.

The new Families Code enshrines a woman’s right to decide over her own body and ensures sexual and reproductive rights for all people irrespective of their gender identity and sexual orientation.

The code also adopts the notion of parental responsibility for, rather than custody over, children.

As Cuba moves to codify the rights of women and LGBTIQ+ people, those same rights are under attack in the U.S. 

Some states are passing abortion bans after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and Republicans have blocked legislation protecting same-sex marriage on national level.