Reference image. The ban on surrogacy occurs in a context of declining birth rates in Italy.
Photo: Courtesy
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Italian senators approved on Wednesday, October 16, a law that strengthens the ban on surrogacy (surrogacy), making it illegal even when it is carried out abroad. In this case, Italians who use a surrogate mother abroad may be prosecuted upon their return. The senators’ vote means that the legislation can now go into effect.
The text was defended by the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who calls herself a “Christian mother.” He won the 2022 elections after a campaign based on nationalism and traditional family values.
The vote “on the ban (…) places us at the forefront of nations in the defense of rights,” Family Minister Eugenia Roccella told reporters. “People are not objects, children are not bought and human body parts are not sold or rented. This simple truth, which is already enshrined in our legal system, where the aberrant practice of surrogacy is a criminal offense, can no longer be avoided.”
According to 2004 legislation, anyone who uses surrogacy in Italy faces sentences of between three months and two years in prison and a fine of between 600,000 and one million euros. But until now, Italians who could afford it could travel to countries where it is legal, such as the United States or Canada. According to the Italian media, the vast majority are heterosexual couples who cannot have children of their own.
“Black day” denounced by the left
Critics have spoken out against the ban, claiming it is unconstitutional and impossible to enforce in practice. Left-wing deputy Riccardo Magi denounced it as a “black day” for “Parliament, (…) for rights and freedoms.”
“The right has made any recourse to surrogacy illegal for Italian citizens, even in countries where it is perfectly legal, regulated and safe,” he wrote on social media.
He regretted that, according to Italian law, “the birth of a child and parenthood” can now be considered “universal crimes”, on the same level as “pedophilia and genocide”, and assured that the opposition will “fight” this law and the will be brought before the Constitutional Court. “Women’s bodies, their wombs and their freedom belong to them. Not to Giorgia Meloni. Not to this Government. Not to any government,” he added.
This debate highlights another unresolved issue in Italy, which does not legally recognize children of same-sex couples. This legal loophole leaves the biological parent as the only parent on birth certificates, forcing the other parent to embark on a long and expensive adoption procedure.
The European Court of Human Rights has already condemned Italy’s delay in LGBT+ rights, especially gay marriage, unlike most of its European neighbors.
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