Soon after prime minister Giorgia Meloni issued a public order removing the names of nonbiological LGBTQ+ parents from their children’s birth certificates, the Italian parliament approved a bill that criminalized surrogacy abroad.
Washington, D.C. — Family Equality, the leading national organization for current and future LGBTQ+ families in America, condemns recent actions taken by the Italian government to undermine and diminish the rights of LGBTQ+ parents and families, including removing nonbiological LGBTQ+ parents from birth certificates and, more recently, approving a bill that would criminalize surrogacy abroad.
With surrogacy and other reproductive medical treatments like IVF already prohibited for LGBTQ+ couples in Italy, this legislation not only denies LGBTQ+ people the opportunity to start their family — it threatens to put prospective parents in jail for even trying. The measure, which passed in the chamber of deputies with 166 votes in support, needs approval by the Italian senate before being passed into law.
“Everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the unconditional joy and belonging of family, no matter who you love or where you live,” said Family Equality CEO, Stacey Stevenson. “What we’re seeing from the top elected officials in Italy is unconscionable. And yet, these actions reflect what we’re seeing outside our own front door, as politicians and pundits alike spout dangerous anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric instead of focusing on passing legislation that keeps us all safe, healthy, and protected. To the LGBTQ+ families in Italy, know that we stand in solidarity with you and will fight with our partners in this international community to preserve your fundamental right to find and form family.”
About Family Equality
Family Equality advances legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families, and for those who wish to form them, through building community, changing hearts and minds, and driving policy change. Family Equality believes every LGBTQ+ person should have the right and opportunity to form and sustain a loving family, regardless of who they are or where they live. Learn more at familyequality.org.
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Press Contact
Tonya Agnew,
Vice President, Communications & Marketing
(765) 490-4709 / tagnew@familyequality.org