The latest case to challenge the same-sex marriage ban in Austria on the grounds that it makes children in the family illegitimate was heard in court this week. Following a change in the law in January 2015, same-sex couples are now allowed to adopt the children of their partners in Austria, although they are still not allowed to marry.

According to gay rights organisation Rechtskomitee Lambda, Austria is the only country in the world which has granted full adoption rights for same-sex couples but not allowed the parents of these children to marry. The lawyer representing a lesbian couple and their four-year-old child argued at the hearing that the ban infringes on the rights of the child because they are forced to grow up illegitimately to unmarried parents.

During the hearing, the judge told the couple’s lawyer Dr Helmut Graupner that he shared his point of view but suggested that it might be necessary to apply to the constitutional court for a change in law.

"Austria made the second, third, fourth and fifth step before the first", he said earlier this year. "The marriage ban must fall, for the sake of the children". Read more via the Local