Italian City Removing Lesbian Mothers From Children’s Birth Certificates

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends the European leaders summit in Brussels, on Feb. 9, 2023. Yves Herman/Reuters

An Italian city has begun removing the names of non-biological mothers of same-sex couples from children’s birth certificates—a move that the country’s government insists is in line with the existing laws.

The cancellation of birth certificates is happening in Padua, a city located in the northern region. Italy has refused to give full adoption rights to same-sex couples due to a fear that it would trigger a rise in surrogate pregnancies, a practice that is outlawed in the country. In June, Valeria Sanzari, a prosecutor from Pauda, filed a lawsuit seeking to cancel 33 birth certificates of children born to couples who identify as lesbian.

These couples had gone abroad and underwent artificial insemination to have children. The kids were then registered in 2017 under Padua’s center-left government.

As of Thursday, 27 non-biological mothers had their names removed from 27 birth certificates, the prosecutor’s office in Padua told CNN.

The move has triggered a backlash from the LGBT community and its supporters. However, the government has lent support to Sanzari’s case.

In an interview with the local RTL radio last month, Luca Ciriani, the minister for parliamentary relations, said that “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.”

Padua is the first Italian city to retroactively cancel birth certificates. Some expect similar measures to be adopted in other parts of the country.

Registering Only Biological Parents

Italy does not allow same-sex marriages but only civil unions. Since such marriages are not recognized under law, the non-biological parent of a same-sex couple has to make a special case to adopt the child of their partner.

Once the name of the non-biological parent is removed from a child’s birth certificate, they will no longer be able to carry out regular parental tasks like picking up kids from school. To do so, they must obtain permission from the biological parent. In addition, if the biological parent were to die, the children could be taken away.

Padua’s removal of non-biological mothers from birth certificates comes after the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni instructed municipal officials earlier this year to only record the biological parent in a same-sex relationship when recording births and not the other parent.

There have been criticisms that the government’s policy violates the rights of LGBT people and children.

“The ban is one of the most concrete manifestations of the fury that the right-wing majority is unleashing against LGBTI people,” said Gabriele Piazzoni, Secretary General of Italy’s largest LGBT+ rights group Arcigay, according to Reuters.

LGBT political activists participate in a dance protest of the group Moms for Liberty in Philadelphia, Penn. July 1, 2023. Beth Brelje/Epoch Times

Fabrizio Marrazzo, a leading gay rights campaigner, called for city leaders to keep registering the birth certificates. “When a law is unjust and discriminatory, those who engage in politics must have the courage to disobey it,” he said.

However, Carlo Fidanza, a member of Meloni’s party, insists that what the government is doing is the correct application of law.

“It’s not possible to recognize [the partner of a biological parent] as a second parent for these children because this is in contrast with Italian legislation, not because of Giorgia Meloni or the Italian government,” Fidanza told EuroNews in March.

“The Court of Cassation stated it. The Interior Minister only ordered the prefects to adhere to that ruling, and that’s all. There’s no reduction of LGBT rights, no attack on children’s rights because all children have the same rights. They can be recognized by their biological parent.” The Supreme Court of Cassation is the highest court in Italy’s judicial system.

Tightening Surrogacy Laws

The Italian government is also seeking to tighten surrogacy laws. In March, the administration introduced legislation that will extend the national ban on surrogacy to couples who utilize such services in foreign locations as well.

Individuals found violating the law could face fines exceeding $1 million as well as a jail term of two years per the proposal.

Speaking to the media in March, Equal Opportunities and Family Minister Eugenia Roccella, questioned the moral basis for the practice of surrogacy. “We are going backwards, not forwards. We are coming to forms of commodification and enslavement of the female body. This is not a front of progress,” she said, according to Euractiv.

“On one side, you buy egg cells, from brochures, from catalogs, from women who are beautiful, tall, of a certain religion, and with another IQ. On the other hand, there are women who lend their wombs with very different characteristics.”

Surrogacy is like a “children’s market,” she said. “There are international fairs, one of which they even tried to do in Milan. But in Italy, it is forbidden, not only surrogacy but also its propaganda.”