A protest organized by families and L.G.B.T.Q. associations to support surrogacy in Rome in April.
Credit...Andreas Solaro/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Italy Passes Law Banning People From Seeking Surrogacy Abroad

The new law was pushed by the party of Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s conservative prime minister.

by · NY Times

Italy passed a law on Wednesday that criminalizes seeking surrogacy abroad, a move the country’s conservative government said would protect women’s dignity, while critics see it as yet another crackdown by the government on L.G.B.T. families, as the law will make it virtually impossible for gay fathers to have children.

Surrogacy is already illegal in Italy. But the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has vowed to broaden the ban to punish Italians who seek it in countries where it is legal, like in parts of the United States.

Analysts saw the legislation as a way for Ms. Meloni to assert her conservative credentials and appeal to her political base, which disproportionately opposes surrogacy and adoption by gay couples. Italy, home to the Vatican, already ranks low in Europe when it comes to civil liberties, and Italian critics say that by imposing further restrictions on gay families, Ms. Meloni has taken a particularly hard line.

Even before it passed, the law had plunged gay families into panic. Now, they feel even more in danger, since under the new law they could be subject to prison sentences and large fines if they seek a surrogate birth abroad.

“It’s like a truck hitting us in the face,” said Pierre Molena, who, with his partner, has embarked on the long path of pursuing a family through surrogacy abroad.

“We are worried about our future and that of our children,” he said.

While some senators on Wednesday rejected assertions that the law was homophobic or specifically targeted the gay community, Carolina Varchi, who introduced the anti-surrogacy bill, wrote on Facebook this summer that with the legislation, her party was working against L.G.B.T. “ideology.”

“Hurrah for children and their right, which is a priority, to have a father and a mother,” said Domenica Spinelli, a senator with Ms. Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, just before Italy’s Senate approved the bill, with 84 votes in favor and 58 against.

Ms. Meloni has also expressed similar positions. Ms. Meloni, who has her political roots in a post-fascist party, has surprised many since taking office by aligning with the Western mainstream on key issues, such as the economy and support for Ukraine.

But experts say that she has taken subtle steps on cultural issues, such as abortion and gay rights, to appeal to her conservative base. For critics, that was particularly alarming, as Italy had already been trailing behind most European countries in terms of L.G.B.T. rights before Ms. Meloni’s government took power. Together with Hungary and the Czech Republic, Italy was among the few E.U. countries not to recognize same-sex marriage.

Since coming to power, her government has appealed a court decision that allowed adults to be identified as a “parent” on their child’s ID, rather than as a “mother” or “father.” It also called on local authorities to vigorously enforce a court decision that barred a mayor from registering children born through surrogacy abroad as having two fathers.

Cities that used to issue such certificates, like Milan, stopped doing so, but the directive also has had the ripple effect of encouraging several Italian prosecutors to revise the birth certificates of children born to lesbian couples. Dozens of mothers faced the prospect of seeing their names removed from the birth certificates of their children.

When it comes to surrogacy, the Roman Catholic Church, along with many feminists, have opposed it, and it is outlawed in other European countries. In some, like the United Kingdom and Greece, it is legal under certain conditions.

But the law passed on Wednesday in Italy is so far-reaching that it was unclear if it could withstand legal challenges.

In theory, anyone can report a family they suspect of having had a child through surrogacy, paving the way for possible criminal prosecution. However, experts say any resulting trial could trigger constitutional challenges. In addition, Italy would face the prospect of trying to prosecute people for crimes committed in a country where their actions were legal, potentially creating diplomatic tensions.

The law also targets a relatively small number of families in a country already struggling with a low birthrate. Most Italian couples who use surrogacy are believed to be heterosexual, and they can also be adversely affected by the law, experts on the issue say. But because gay couples need a third party to have children, many feel that the law leaves them especially vulnerable to scrutiny. Also, only heterosexual couples are allowed to adopt in Italy, meaning gay Italians have few options for starting a family.

Mr. Molena criticized the legislation for not differentiating between poorer women who can be exploited by the practice and women in places like Canada, who volunteer to carry a baby without seeking compensation.

Conservative lawmakers argued in the Senate on Wednesday that surrogacy exploits all women. They also argued that the new law would put an end to the hypocrisy of the current legal situation in Italy, where couples can easily circumvent the surrogacy ban by pursuing it abroad.

Senator Elena Murelli, a member of the anti-immigrant League party, called surrogacy a form of “child trade,” and added “you can’t buy children at the supermarket.”

Liberal lawmakers argued that surrogacy should be considered a medical solution to infertility, and that in a country where gay couples are unable to adopt, the law would likely prevent those couples from having children.

The law also stigmatizes the many children born through surrogacy who already live in Italy, opponents said. “It looks like you don’t realize these people already exist,” said Alessandra Maiorino, a member of Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

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