“We are confronted with two choices: either remain in Italy and risk imprisonment, or flee,” say Claudio and Davide (pseudonyms), who are expecting a child through surrogacy in another country.
Surrogacy is illegal in Italy and much of Europe, prompting couples to travel to surrogacy-friendly countries like the US and Canada to have children.
However, a new bill in the Italian Senate aims to criminalize surrogacy as a “universal crime,” punishable even if committed abroad, akin to human trafficking or child exploitation. No other nation has enacted such a sweeping ban.
If passed, the bill could result in hefty fines of up to one million euros and prison sentences of up to two years for couples like Claudio and Davide, who fear being separated from their child and have requested anonymity to avoid potential repercussions from the Italian government.
In anticipation of the law, the couple is preparing to seek political asylum in more LGBT-friendly European countries, with Davide learning Dutch and Maltese.
Their departure would be challenging, as they would leave behind a supportive community eagerly awaiting their child’s arrival. Both express heartbreak at leaving their homeland, with Davide emphasizing his pride in being Italian and lamenting being treated like a criminal for simply wanting to start a family.
The bill is championed by Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister and leader of the Brothers of Italy party, known for its socially conservative stance. Meloni believes that children should be raised by both a mother and a father, aligning with the traditionally strong influence of the Catholic Church in Italy, where gay marriage remains illegal, and same-sex couples have limited rights compared to other Western European nations.
For many LGBT couples, surrogacy abroad represents the only path to building a family, as artificial insemination or adoption are not viable options in Italy. The issue has ignited heated political debates, with Meloni condemning surrogacy as a symbol of societal decay, while Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini likened it to treating women as “ATM-women” producing babies.
Legal experts, like Angelo Schillaci from Rome’s Sapienza University, denounce the proposed law as irrational, arguing that it makes no sense to equate surrogacy with crimes against humanity and that it would criminalize actions that are lawful in allied countries like the US and Canada. Critics view it as part of a broader assault on LGBT rights in Italy.
Carolina Varchi, the MP who drafted the bill, counters that most surrogacy users in Italy are heterosexual couples, citing expert opinions that 90% of surrogacy cases in the country involve straight couples. She argues that the bill’s primary goal is to protect women and their dignity, preventing their bodies from being commodified for childbirth.
Varchi maintains that the legislation targets the parents who commission surrogacy, not the children themselves, and suggests that most offenders would likely face fines rather than imprisonment.
However, the families affected by the bill maintain close relationships with their surrogates and reject the notion that surrogacy reduces women to objects. They see the government’s rhetoric as humiliating and stigmatizing.
Furthermore, the Italian government is taking additional measures to complicate LGBT parents’ efforts to form families, including obstacles to recognizing children’s birth certificates and complex adoption processes.
In the city of Padova, a state prosecutor has demanded the removal of non-biological mothers from birth certificates of children born to lesbian couples, jeopardizing their parental rights. These mothers now face legal battles to retain their status.
Overall, the LGBT community in Italy perceives these actions as an attack on their families and an imposition of a traditional family model by the right-wing government. Despite these challenges, they remain determined to fight for their right to have families and not be treated as second-class citizens.