Italian authorities are imposing new measures against LGBTQ+ families and limiting the options for them to have children.
Many same-sex couples say the new laws, which prohibit the use of surrogacy outside the country, are a personal attack against them.
“We have two options: stay in Italy and go to prison, or flee.”
Claudio and Davide (not their real names) are waiting for their baby who was conceived in the womb of a woman who lives outside Italy.
This practice, known as surrogacy, is prohibited in Italy and in most European countries, so many couples travel to countries where the practice is legal – such as the US and Canada -, complete the process with a woman who offers to be the surrogate and then they bring the baby born abroad back with them.
But The Italian Senate is about to approve a law that will make surrogacy a “universal crime”, that is, punishable even if it is carried out outside the countryjust as happens with human trafficking or pedophilia.
No other country has a similar ban.
If the proposal becomes law, couples like Claudio and Davide could face fines close to US$900,000 and up to two years in prison.
“I’m afraid that my son will not grow up with his parents because we will end up in jail,” says Claudio.
The couple is afraid of what could happen to them, so they have asked that we not reveal their identity. They fear that the Italian government could identify and persecute them.
Both indicate that they are ready to flee and seek political asylum in a country more friendly to the LGTBQ+ community. Davide is learning Dutch and Maltese.
“I feel like they are forcing me into exile just for wanting to be a father,” says Davide.
Exile would be an incredibly difficult move for the couple, who would lose the family and friends who surround and support them.
“In our inner circle they are eager to meet the baby,” says Claudio.
And they have no consolation when thinking about a forced departure from Italy.
“I don’t want to leave my country. I feel proud to be Italian,” explains Davide.
“I have tried to be the best citizen possible, and now I feel treated like a criminal just because I want to have a family,” he notes.
The controversial proposal
The proposed law against surrogacy is part of the agenda of the conservative political faction of Giorgia Meloni, the first woman to be prime minister in the history of Italy, whose party, the Brothers of Italy, comes from a movement that was made up of former members of the Fascist party founded by Mussolini.
Meloni describes herself as a Christian mother and firmly believes that children should be raised only by their father and mother.
Italy is a country where the influence of the Catholic Church is very strong. In fact, gay marriage is illegal and same-sex couples have fewer rights than in other Western European countries.
For this reason, artificial insemination or even adoption are not options for LGBTQ+ couples, so for many, searching for a surrogate mother outside the country is the only option to expand their family.
Now, the truth is that this practice has been at the center of several political debates.
Meloni has described surrogacy as a “symbol of an abominable society that confuses desire with rights and replaces God with money.”
And the deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, compared it to using an ATM.
“She is a cashier woman who produces babies. For me she is an aberration,” she declared.
“I am going to fight against this barbaric practice, just thinking about it makes me sick.”
However, Angelo Schillaci, a law professor at Sapienza University, has described the proposal as “irrational” and believes that it makes no sense to put surrogacy on the same level as pedophilia and crimes against humanity.
“The law is seeking to punish what is perfectly legal in countries that are allies like the US and Canada,” says Schillaci.
“It’s like punishing someone for smoking marijuana in Amsterdam when they are back in the country”he adds.
For the academic, the law is also problematic because it is a clear attack on the rights of the LGTBQ+ community in Italy.
Carolina Varchi, who is a parliamentarian for Meloni’s party, was the one who promoted the bill and rejects this type of reading of the norm.
“Most people who use surrogacy are heterosexual,” he explains.
Experts have pointed out that nearly 90% of couples who go to a surrogate in Italy are heterosexual.many of whom hide the fact that they have traveled abroad to have their baby.
However, same-sex couples returning to Italy with a child cannot hide that fact.
Protect women
Varchi has indicated that the new law will “protect women and their dignity.”
“It is intolerable. The body of women is reduced to an object that is rented for nine months to bring a baby into the world, which must leave her arms immediately to give it to her clients,” explains the parliamentarian.
“We are not discriminating against children. “This law is designed for parents who commission, like any other order, to have a baby.”
Varchi told the BBC that surrogacy should be seen as a crime as serious as pedophilia and should be prosecuted accordingly.
However, the parliamentarian implies that most people would receive a fine instead of going to prison.
In countries where surrogacy is legal, regulations vary and include considerations such as whether the woman carrying the baby can be paid more than overhead costs and what steps must be taken to ensure they give free and informed consent.
But Varchi notes that Even in countries like the US and Canada – where surrogacy is highly regulated – women do it for money.
“It is a business worth millions. In 2023 we must have the courage to say that money does not buy everything. And certainly, you cannot buy a woman’s body, much less a human life,” he explains.
But the families the BBC spoke to say they have a great relationship with the women who were their surrogates.
The woman who carried Carlo and Davide’s baby gave them the teddy bear in which you can hear her son’s heartbeat, which she recorded during an ultrasound.
“When politicians talk about surrogacy they use terms like ‘rented wombs,’” says Maurizio, whose twins were also surrogates. According to him, that phrase is designed to humiliate.
But it’s not just this pregnancy practice, the Italian government is also using other means to make it even more difficult for LGBTQ+ parents to have a family.
under attack
Before Mauro and Maurizio managed to get Italy to recognize the twins’ birth certificates, the municipality of Milan, like other authorities around the country, was ordered by the central government to stop registering children of same-sex couples.
They told us that this decision had caused their two children to date not to have Italian citizenship, which means that they will have difficulties accessing the free health system or daycare.
“Our children do not exist in the eyes of the Italian state. They are treated like illegal immigrants. “It is total discrimination.”explains Mauro.
This situation has caused them great anxiety: every time they go out with the twins, Luisa and Giorgio, they must have a series of documents on hand in case they have to prove that they are indeed their parents.
Parliamentarian Varchi notes that “non-biological parents can request the adoption of these children and in special circumstances this will be approved.”
However, this process, called “stepchild adoption,” is expensive and can take years.
“It is humiliating that you have to adopt your own child. “For the government to believe that gay parents cannot raise their own children is homophobic.”he notes.
In the northern Italian city of Padua, things have taken a more drastic turn.
A prosecutor has demanded the cancellation of 33 birth certificates for children of lesbian couples that have been issued in the last six years.
All non-biological mothers will lose rights to their children.
Caterina is one of the girls whose world has been turned upside down.
Born to a Danish sperm donor, she has blonde hair and blue eyes. Her mothers, Valentina and Daniela, decided to register her in Padua because the city’s mayor was willing to include same-sex parents on birth certificates.
But now her daughter is caught in legal limbo.
“All LGBT people in Italy are under attack. For the government, our families are not real families“says Valentina, fighting back tears as she watches her 16-month-old son chase rabbits in the park.
As the child’s biological mother, her status is secure. But the prosecutor’s order is that Daniela’s last name be removed from Caterina’s birth certificate.
“I will not be able to take my daughter to school, I will not be able to make decisions for her in a hospital, I will not be able to travel with her abroad without Valentina’s written permission,” explains Daniela with regret.
“If Valentina died, our daughter would be an orphan at the disposal of the State and I would also be lost,” he adds.
Affected mothers in Padua are preparing to go to court and ask for the decision to be overturned, but judges have ruled against same-sex parents in the past.
“We feel like the Italian government is waging a war against our children,” says Valentina.
Like other LGBTQ+ parents, he believes that the right-wing government wants to impose its idea of a “traditional family.”
“I’m really angry. It’s a total injustice: our children are being attacked for an ideological issue,” says Daniela.
So far, there is no indication that the government will back down.
The proposal to make surrogacy a universal crime is likely to become law, undermining the already fragile status of Italy’s LGBTQ+ community.
People we spoke to told us they don’t want their children to be treated like second-class citizens. and that they will continue fighting for their right to have a family.
“We are all furious,” says Daniela.
“It makes our blood boil and gives us energy to keep fighting. As in all dark periods, we have to face this bravely.”
Surrogacy Laws Around the World
- Italy, Spain, France and Germany are among the European countries that ban all forms of surrogacy.
- In Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech Republic it is not possible to go to court to enforce a surrogacy agreement if it is violated.
- In the UK it is illegal for third parties to arrange surrogacy for profit and the surrogate will be recorded on the birth certificate until paternity is transferred by order.
- Greece accepts foreign couples and provides legal protection to intended parents (the surrogate mother has no legal rights to the child); However, in that country it is insisted that there must be a woman in the relationship (thus excluding homosexual couples or single men).
- The United States and Canada allow surrogacy for same-sex couples and recognize them as legal parents from the birth of the baby.
- Previous attempts to ban surrogacy abroad have failed in other countries, including Australia and Hong Kong. “The laws were inapplicable; there was no will to go to trial because it would be disastrous for the child,” explains surrogacy lawyer Natalie Gamble, from the British firm NGA Law.
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/c25rljkwj5ro, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-09-23 20:00:08
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