Italy recently passed a law criminalizing surrogacy abroad, dealing a blow to the path to parenthood for gay men and infertile couples, both straight and LGBTQ.
Surrogacy is already illegal in Italy. But Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, known as the Italian Brothers, is seeking to punish Italians who practice surrogacy in countries where surrogacy is legal, such as the United States.
The law appears to be the broadest ban passed in Western countries, although domestic surrogacy is banned in countries such as Germany and France, and restricted in countries such as the United Kingdom and Greece.
The law’s passage will allow Meloni, a right-wing ideologue, to cater to the social conservative base of his “neo-fascist” party, which opposes surrogacy and adoption by same-sex couples.
The move allows Meloni and other conservatives to claim they are protecting women’s dignity. Opponents of surrogacy often argue that the practice is humiliating and exploitative of women, especially poor women, who tend to offer the role of surrogate mother in exchange for compensation, the report said. . new york times.
Meloni, a single mother who was never married to her daughter’s father, has hypocritically called for the importance of promoting “traditional family values.”
She and her fellow conservatives have slammed “gender ideology” and the “LGBT lobby” at political events, saying children should only be raised in two-parent, straight families.
Last year, Interior Minister Meloni ordered local authorities to stop posting certificates for children born abroad through surrogacy, citing a court ruling, which is now being challenged.
As a result, some children of same-sex parents are denied citizenship, access to public schools, health care, and other benefits and services.
Following a decree from the Interior Minister, prosecutors across Italy began challenging the birth certificates of all children born to same-sex parents, regardless of whether they were born by a surrogate mother, and from birth to non-biological parents. The purpose was to erase the name of certificate.
Under the law, passed by the Italian Senate in a vote of 84 to 58 on October 16, Italians who find surrogate mothers in other countries will be sentenced to two years in prison and fined 1 million euros, or about $1.08 million. There is a possibility. In US dollars.
Some senators rejected claims that the law was motivated by homophobia, while others were more open about its intentions.
For example, right-wing Italian Brotherhood senator Carolina Varchi publicly wrote: facebook post The ban on surrogacy is part of a larger fight against “LGBT ideology”. Senator Elena Murelli of the right-wing Alliance party called surrogacy a form of “child trafficking” akin to slavery, adding: “You can’t buy a child in a supermarket.”
Italian law already prohibits same-sex couples from adopting children both domestically and internationally. In addition to the existing ban on domestic surrogacy, the ban on international surrogacy effectively cuts off the last avenue for many same-sex couples to form families.
“Nature decides this, not us,” Italian Brotherhood senator Susanna Campione said during the debate, dismissing criticism of the law. “We believe that surrogacy essentially reduces women to reproductive machines, so this is a civilized law that protects women as well as children.”
Even before the law was passed, some same-sex couples had begun considering whether to leave Italy for asylum in other countries, especially after Meloni’s government refused to recognize parenthood.
With the passage of this law, families headed by same-sex couples would be exposed to constant fear of being reported by someone with anti-LGBTQ views, and the government would separate children from their parents and bring them to the state. You will be exposed to the risk that someone may try to enter you. – Operate an orphanage.
Critics say the law is flawed because it allows any family suspected of having a surrogate child to report. Italian prosecutors will likely have difficulty accessing the overseas medical records needed to prove these claims. Additionally, Italy will prosecute people for crimes committed in countries where the acts are legal. The law also targets a relatively small number of families in countries where birth rates are already low.
Most couples who use surrogacy are thought to be heterosexual, but are most likely to be heterosexual unless the woman is found to be infertile before returning home with the baby. are gay male couples who need to use a third party to have a child. Subject to law.
“It’s gay couples who can’t hide this,” said Alessia Crocini, president of Rainbow Families, a group opposed to the law. washington post. “this is, [targeting] Gay fathers. ”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
