Italian senators approved on Wednesday, October 16, a law that reinforces the ban on surrogacy (GPA) by making it illegal even abroad, thus allowing its entry into force. The text exposes Italians who use a surrogate mother abroad to legal action upon their return.
He was defended by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Fratelli d’Italia party, which calls itself a supporter “Christian mother”winner of the 2022 elections after a campaign focused on nationalism and traditional family values.
the vote “about the ban […] “It places us at the forefront of nations in the defense of rights.”the Minister of the Family, Eugenia Roccella, told reporters.
“People are not objects, children cannot be bought and human body parts cannot be sold or rented. This simple truth, which already appears in our legal system where the aberrant practice of surrogacy is a crime, can no longer be avoided.”he defended himself.
From three months to two years in prison
Under 2004 legislation, anyone using surrogacy in Italy faces between three months and two years in prison and a fine ranging from 600,000 to one million euros. But until now, Italians who had the means could go to countries where surrogacy is legal, such as the United States or Canada. According to Italian media, the vast majority of them are heterosexual couples who cannot have children.
Critical voices were raised against this ban, arguing that it was unconstitutional and impossible to apply in practice. The left-wing deputy Riccardo Magi denounced in particular a “black day” For “parliament […]for rights and freedoms ». “The right has made it illegal for Italian citizens to resort to surrogacy, even in countries where it is perfectly legal, regulated and safe”he wrote on social media. Regrets that from now on, in the eyes of Italian legislation, the “birth of a child and parenthood” can be considered as “universal crimes”in the same way as “Pedophilia and genocide”and that the opposition was going “struggle” this law and bring it before the Constitutional Court. “Women’s bodies, their wombs and their freedom belong to them. Not Georgia Meloni. Not to this government. To no government »he added.
This debate reveals another still unresolved in Italy, which does not legally recognize the children of same-sex couples. This loophole leaves the biological father as the only parent listed on birth certificates, forcing the other parent to begin a long and expensive adoption process.
