Italy’s Senate has approved a law making it illegal for couples to travel abroad for surrogacy services, expanding the country’s existing domestic ban.
The legislation passed with a vote of 84 to 58, imposes harsh penalties, including up to two years in prison and fines reaching €1 million (£835,710).
Critics argue that this law disproportionately affects LGBT couples, who already face significant restrictions on adoption and IVF in Italy.
“If someone has a baby, they should be given a medal,” said LGBT activist Franco Grillini. “Here instead, you are sent to jail… if you don’t have children in the traditional way. This is a monstrous law. No country in the world has such a thing.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s socially conservative agenda has driven this legislation. Meloni has publicly expressed her opposition to surrogacy for LGBT couples, describing it as “a symbol of an abominable society that confuses desire with rights and substitutes God with money.” Her deputy, Matteo Salvini, has labeled surrogacy an “aberration,” reducing women to the status of an “ATM.”
However, Carolina Varchi, the MP who drafted the ban, claims it’s not intended to harm LGBT individuals. “Most people who use surrogacy are heterosexual,” Varchi argued. “This law will protect women and their dignity.”
The law has sparked concerns about Italy’s declining birth rate and the complications it adds to the path to parenthood. Opponents staged a protest ahead of the vote, highlighting the legislation’s potential harm to families.
In 2022, Meloni declared, “Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby.” Her government has since directed Milan’s city council to cease registering children with same-sex parents.
