Becoming parents is an uphill battle for same-sex couples, with less than one country out of five giving them the right to adopt and many restricting their use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogates. Here is a round-up of same-sex parenting rights worldwide. Adoption: Nearly 40 countries, or less than a fifth of the United Nation’s 193 member states, allow same-sex couples to adopt, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). Located mainly in Europe, North and Latin America, they are largely the same countries that have allowed same-sex marriages or civil partnerships. The Netherlands in 2001 became the first country in the world to allow same-sex couples to adopt children, and 22 European countries, nine in the Americas, plus South Africa, Israel, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand have since followed suit.