ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece approved legislation on Wednesday speeding up child adoption and allowing same-sex couples to become guardians of orphans, cutting a morass of bureaucracy where candidate parents and thousands of children are trapped waiting for years.

There is an average six-year waiting time for prospective parents to go through the adoption process, a key deterrent for thousands of people. The new process limits waiting time to 8-12 months, although many cases will be subject to court approval.

“This regime of grief comes to an end today,” Labor Minister Effie Achtsioglou told parliament.

The law, which also sets up a registry of minors under adoption and candidate parents, was approved by a majority of lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament, after a heated debate.

A provision allowing same-sex couples in a civil partnership agreement to become guardians of parentless children led to protests from the Orthodox Church and unrest in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s left-right coalition. Read more via Reuters