On 23 September 2015, parties from the Left majority in Parliament submitted bills to grant same-sex couples full adoption rights as well as access to IVF. On 20 November 2015, 5 proposals regarding adoption rights were approved by Parliament in their first readings. The bills were then moved to the Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees Committee, where they were merged into one project and approved on 16 December 2015. On 18 December 2015, the bill was approved by Parliament. On 25 January 2016, one day after the presidential election, outgoing President Aníbal Cavaco Silva vetoed the adoption bill. The Left majority in Parliament announced their intention to override the veto. On 10 February 2016, the veto was overturned by Parliament. The President begrudgingly signed the bill into law on 19 February 2016. The law was published in the official journal on 29 February, and took effect the first day of the first month after its publication (i.e. 1 March 2016).