In Italy, surrogacy is currently illegal and punishable by 2 years in prison and €1 million (~1.1 million USD). Same-sex marriage is also illegal. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has repeatedly accused "the LGBT lobby" of “undermining society and the traditional family.”  Due to government-issued actions, birth certificates have been stripped from 33 same-sex couples. FdI lawmaker Federico Mollicone said in a TV interview that "surrogacy is definitely a serious crime ... more serious than pedophilia."

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has continuously rejected appeals from Italian same-sex and heterosexual couples who challenged national restrictions against the recognition of children born abroad through surrogacy (REUTERS).

Italy’s far-right lawmakers from the leading Fratelli d'Italia (FdI) party are working to pass another law that would make it illegal in Italy for citizens to engage a surrogate mother in another country, would authorize prison terms of up to three years and fines of up to 1 million euros ($1.15 million) (AP NEWS).  

Antonio, an Italian man seeking a surrogate with his husband Leo beginning in 2021, concisely summarized his heart-wrenching journey: "I never even got a parking ticket. And now I'm facing three years in prison, just for wanting to be a parent." The couple changed their legal names out of fear and traveled to Canada, where Italian couples have gone for decades for surrogacy. However, they are still not safe due to new proposed laws. (CBC NEWS).

According to a study by the University of Pisa, approximately 3-5% of couples in Italy are infertile (Ferraretti et al., 2017). For these people, surrogacy could be their only hope for having a child. This law specifically targets same-sex couples, single individuals, and infertile couples who wish to become parents. However, according to Alessia Crocini, head of Famiglie Arcobaleno (Rainbow Families), an association that represents same-sex parents, 90% of Italian couples who resort to surrogacy abroad are heterosexuals, but mostly do it in secret, pretending their child was born naturally, which gay couples cannot do.

Crochini emphasized how the universal ban would be "extremely difficult" to apply in practice: "To criminalize a practice that is perfectly legal and regulated by very strict laws in countries that cannot certainly be called rogue states would be problematic in terms of international law."

Furthermore, this ban forces many Italians to seek surrogacy services abroad, often facing legal complications upon their return with their newborns. It is time for Italy to reconsider its stance on this issue and align itself with other European countries like Belgium and the UK where regulated forms of surrogacy are allowed. We urge Italian lawmakers to reconsider their stance on surrogacy and provide an opportunity for all aspiring parents in Italy to fulfill their dreams of parenthood. 

Lawmaker Chiara Appendino, who registered non-biological parents on birth certificates when she served as mayor of Turin, said the crackdown ignores the rights of children. “While the government is blathering about absurd universal crimes, the consequences are being paid by children,’' Appendino tweeted.

Sign this petition if you believe in equal reproductive rights for all Italians, want to protect surrogate children, and are against the discriminatory legislation and ideologies being pushed in Italy about LGBTQIA+ individuals.