Italy enforces ban on recognising same-sex parenthood

Italy's government has ordered Milan's city council to stop registering same-sex couples as children's parents.

Milan has been registering children born to same-sex parents since 2018, but the mayor Giuseppe Sala confirmed that he received a letter from the country's interior ministry citing a court ruling that parents could only obtain legal recognition through a court-approved adoption.

'It is a clear step backwards, politically and socially, and I put myself in the shoes of those parents who thought they could count on this possibility in Milan,' said Sala on his podcast Bongiorno Milano.

He confirmed he will abide by the ruling but will continue to fight for equal rights for LGBT+ families.

Surrogacy is illegal in Italy, and although same-sex unions are permitted, same-sex couples do not have the right to marry or adopt children. However, ambiguities in the legislation have meant that some local courts have approved adoption for same-sex partners of a child's biological parent, and some cities have allowed surrogate-born children to be registered.

Prime Minister Georgia Meloni has been open in her opposition to surrogacy and non-traditional families. Since her election in September 2022, her government has moved to remove ambiguity in the law and close loopholes.

Meloni's government is trying to pass a bill that describes surrogacy as 'the commercialisation of the female body and the treatment of babies as merchandise' and would explicitly criminalise families who have a child via surrogacy outside Italy (see BioNews 1178).

If the law is passed, the punishment of two years imprisonment and a fine of up to one million euros which currently applies to anyone convicted of using surrogacy inside Italy would apply even if the child was born in a jurisdiction where surrogacy is legal and well-regulated.

The Italian senate also voted against a proposed EU regulation in December that would require member states to recognise legal parenthood relationships established in other EU jurisdictions (see BioNews 1172).

Explaining why having legally recognised parents matters, law professor Angelo Schillaci, from Sapienza University in Rome, told the BBC: 'Children end up having limited access to key services and benefits, such as healthcare, inheritance and child support'.

The announcement sparked protests in Milan with people demonstrating on the streets at the weekend. Among them was Elly Schlein, leader of Italy's Democratic Party.

'We are talking about boys and girls already growing up in our communities and going to our schools,' she said, asking the prime minister 'not to discriminate against the daughters and sons of these wonderful families'.