The National Assembly’s Thursday session saw the passing of the amended Law on Marriage and Family, which neither bans nor recognizes same sex marriage in Vietnam.

Tran Thi Kha, standing commissioner of the Commission on Social Issues, elaborated that the new law has removed the ban on same-sex marriage, but does not recognize the practice.

According to statistics, Vietnam now has about 1.65 million homosexuals between the ages of 15 and 59, accounting for about three percent of the population.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly also collected lawmakers’ opinions on surrogate pregnancy for humanitarian reasons.

Over 59 percent, or 237 out of 401 delegates, approved of the proposed regulation, while 39.9 percent, or 160 delegates, disapproved of it.

The new law will take effect on January 1, 2015.

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