Italian prosecutor demands cancellation of birth certificates for 33 children
Prosecutors in Padua, northern Italy, are pushing to cancel the birth certificates of children born to lesbian couples as the national government seeks to limit same-sex parents' rights.
Italian media reported on Monday that prosecutors have demanded the cancellation of the birth certificates of 33 children born in Padua, in a move that has outraged Italy's LGBTQ+ community and sparked concerns about the rights and welfare of children and their families.
The move, which would mean applying a different interpretation of an existing law, came after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government in March ordered city councils to stop registering children born to same-sex couples.
Italy legalised same-sex civil unions in 2016 - but stopped short of granting couples the right to adopt due to opposition from the Catholic Church, with conservative forces suggesting this could create more demand for surrogacy.
With a lack of clear legislation around the issue, the way courts and local authorities have interpreted the law so far has varied around the country. Padua is among the cities which have registered births to both partners in same-sex couples.
READ ALSO: Milan stops recognising children born to same-sex couples
But now, local prosecutor Valeria Sanzari has reportedly requested that 33 birth certificates signed by the city mayor since 2017 be cancelled and the name of the non-biological mother removed.
A woman holds a placard reading "explain to my son that I am not his mother" at a protest held by gay rights and civil society groups in Milan in March 2023 against moves by Italy's hard-right government to restrict the rights of same-sex parents. Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP
Parents and gay rights campaigners pointed out that removing the name of a parent from a child’s birth certificate, which will often mean changing the child’s surname, would cause both major bureaucratic issues and emotional distress.
Alessandro Zan, a centre-left lawmaker known for his campaigning for gay rights in Italy, called it a "cruel, inhumane decision” which means “children are being orphaned by decree.”
In March, members of the European Parliament said they feared the government's push to stop children being registered with same-sex parents was "part of a broader attack against the LGBTQI+ community in Italy".
READ ALSO: Protesters gather in Milan as Italy limits same-sex parents' rights
In terms of practical implications, the parent whose name is removed would for example no longer be allowed to pick up her child from school without written permission from her partner, and if the legally recognised parent dies, the child could be taken into care.
The only way to regain parenting rights would be to go through a lengthy and expensive special adoption process.
A court will rule on the Padua case later this year.
Italy's lower house of parliament was also debating a law this week that would make it a crime for Italian couples to have a baby by surrogate anywhere in the world, even in countries where it is legal, such as the US or Canada.
In Italy, anyone prosecuted under laws against surrogacy could face up to three years in prison or a fine of between 600,000 and one million euros.
Now, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party wants to extend this law to cover Italian nationals who have a baby through surrogacy anywhere in the world - something legal experts say would likely be impossible to implement.
But the proposal has aroused fears that, if passed into law, it could result in large numbers of same-sex parents whose children were born via surrogates being sent to prison.
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Italian media reported on Monday that prosecutors have demanded the cancellation of the birth certificates of 33 children born in Padua, in a move that has outraged Italy's LGBTQ+ community and sparked concerns about the rights and welfare of children and their families.
The move, which would mean applying a different interpretation of an existing law, came after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government in March ordered city councils to stop registering children born to same-sex couples.
Italy legalised same-sex civil unions in 2016 - but stopped short of granting couples the right to adopt due to opposition from the Catholic Church, with conservative forces suggesting this could create more demand for surrogacy.
With a lack of clear legislation around the issue, the way courts and local authorities have interpreted the law so far has varied around the country. Padua is among the cities which have registered births to both partners in same-sex couples.
READ ALSO: Milan stops recognising children born to same-sex couples
But now, local prosecutor Valeria Sanzari has reportedly requested that 33 birth certificates signed by the city mayor since 2017 be cancelled and the name of the non-biological mother removed.
Parents and gay rights campaigners pointed out that removing the name of a parent from a child’s birth certificate, which will often mean changing the child’s surname, would cause both major bureaucratic issues and emotional distress.
Alessandro Zan, a centre-left lawmaker known for his campaigning for gay rights in Italy, called it a "cruel, inhumane decision” which means “children are being orphaned by decree.”
In March, members of the European Parliament said they feared the government's push to stop children being registered with same-sex parents was "part of a broader attack against the LGBTQI+ community in Italy".
READ ALSO: Protesters gather in Milan as Italy limits same-sex parents' rights
In terms of practical implications, the parent whose name is removed would for example no longer be allowed to pick up her child from school without written permission from her partner, and if the legally recognised parent dies, the child could be taken into care.
The only way to regain parenting rights would be to go through a lengthy and expensive special adoption process.
A court will rule on the Padua case later this year.
Italy's lower house of parliament was also debating a law this week that would make it a crime for Italian couples to have a baby by surrogate anywhere in the world, even in countries where it is legal, such as the US or Canada.
In Italy, anyone prosecuted under laws against surrogacy could face up to three years in prison or a fine of between 600,000 and one million euros.
Now, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party wants to extend this law to cover Italian nationals who have a baby through surrogacy anywhere in the world - something legal experts say would likely be impossible to implement.
But the proposal has aroused fears that, if passed into law, it could result in large numbers of same-sex parents whose children were born via surrogates being sent to prison.
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