June 20, 23

NEWS / Italian prosecutor demands cancellation of birth certificates for lesbian couple children

A state prosecutor based in the Italian city of Padua has demanded the cancellation of 33 birth certificates issued to lesbian mothers dating back to 2017. The state prosecutor, Valeria Sanzari, is demanding the removal of the names of the non-biological mother. The move comes months after right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government ordered city councils to stop registering the children of same-sex couples. Italy legalized same-sex civil unions under the center-left government of Matteo Renzi in 2016. However, same-sex couples were not given full adoption rights as the government feared it would encourage surrogate pregnancies, which are illegal in Italy. Removal of the non-biological mother’s name will require her to obtain permission from the biological mother to perform certain daily tasks, such as picking up the child from school. If the biological parent dies, the child would be taken away from the family. “In Italy, marriage is only between a man and a woman, and therefore only the biological parent is the parent whose surname can be registered,” Italian minister for parliamentary relations Luca Ciriani, was quoted by NBC News as saying. The Italian parliament is currently considering a law that would make it illegal for couples to go abroad to have a surrogate baby, even in jurisdictions where such pregnancies are legal, such as the United States and Canada. “These children are being orphaned by decree,” Left-wing parliamentarian Alessandro Zan was quoted by NBC News as saying, “This is a cruel, inhumane decision.” Last month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his Italian counterpart that Canada was very concerned about some of Italy’s positions in terms of LGBTQ rights.