Same-sex couples who use IVF abroad will be legally recognised as parents
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY GETTY
Lesbian mothers rejoiced in Italy yesterday (22 May) after Italy’s Constitutional Court said that same-sex couples who use IVF abroad can both be legally recognised as parents, even if one is not the biological mother.
The court found that denying legal recognition to the non-biological mother actually violated the constitutional principles of equality and personal identity as well as the child’s right to care from both parents. While IVF is still denied to same-sex couples in Italy, this new win means that couples going abroad for IVF can still feel confident in their own rights as parents.
This news departs from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s stance on LGBTQIA+ rights. In 2023, under her government, Italy began the process of removing lesbian mothers from birth certificates if they did not biologically carry their child. Meloni has held a strong stance against what she has described as “gender ideology” and “the LGBT lobbies”.
This new ruling by a court in Lucca struck down a part of a 2004 law which stopped both women in same-sex couples being registered as legal mothers.
Following this new ruling, LGBTQIA+ families now have greater clarity about their parental rights surrounding IVF.
As reported by Reuters, LGBTQIA+ activist Marilena Grassadonia said that this ruling marked a “historic day” in Italy. Grassadonia also said that the decision “restores dignity and serenity to the many rainbow families who live in our country”.
In 2023, LGBTQIA+ people around the world were shocked to hear that Italy would be removing non-biological lesbian mothers’ names from birth certificates. In the city of Padua, 27 families were issued a warning letter about the new policy which will affect the birth certificates of 33 children. If removed from the birth certificate, they would lose the ability to be the child’s legal custodian.
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