Italy has officially made it illegal for couples to seek surrogacy services abroad, extending an existing ban on the practice within the country. This new law prohibits individuals from pursuing surrogacy in countries where it is legal, such as the United States and Canada. Violators could face up to two years in prison and fines reaching €1 million (£835,710).
Proposed by Italy’s far-right governing party, the law has been criticized for targeting LGBTQ+ couples, who currently face restrictions on adoption and in vitro fertilization (IVF) within the country. Surrogacy, which allows a woman to carry a pregnancy for another couple or individual, is often sought due to fertility issues or in the case of same-sex male couples.
The law passed with a vote of 84 to 58 in the Italian Senate on Wednesday. Opponents of the legislation protested ahead of the vote, arguing that it makes it more difficult for people to become parents amid the country’s declining birth rate. “If someone has a baby, they should be given a medal,” said LGBT activist Franco Grillini at the demonstration. “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.”
The legislation aligns with the socially conservative agenda of Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister and leader of the Brothers of Italy party. Meloni, who has identified herself as a Christian mother, believes that children should only be raised by a man and a woman. She has publicly opposed surrogacy for LGBTQ+ couples, framing anti-LGBT rhetoric as a key element of her election campaign. In a 2022 speech, she stated, “Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby.”
In 2023, her government directed Milan’s city council to halt the registration of children belonging to same-sex parents. Meloni has described surrogacy as “a symbol of an abominable society that confuses desire with rights and replaces God with money.” Her deputy, Matteo Salvini, labeled the practice an “aberration” that treats women as “an ATM.”
Carolina Varchi, the MP who drafted the ban, previously denied that the legislation was intended to harm LGBTQ+ individuals, asserting that “most people who use surrogacy are heterosexual.” She claimed the law would “protect women and their dignity.”
Experts have indicated that approximately 90% of couples using surrogacy in Italy are heterosexual, many of whom feel compelled to hide their actions when traveling abroad for the procedure. However, same-sex families returning to Italy with a child face a more public scrutiny.
Surrogacy laws vary globally, with Italy, Spain, France, and Germany prohibiting all forms of the practice. In the UK, compensation for surrogacy is limited to reasonable expenses, while surrogates are registered on the birth certificate until parenthood is transferred via a parental order. Other European nations, such as Greece, allow foreign couples to access surrogacy but impose additional restrictions that exclude gay couples or single men. Conversely, the US and Canada permit surrogacy for same-sex couples and recognize them as legal parents from birth.
