Italians Salvatore Scarpa and Luca Capuano had their daughter Paola through an American surrogate. (Giovanni Cipriano for The Washington Post)
On Wednesday, October 16, 2024, Italy passed a new law that imposes severe penalties on Italian citizens who use surrogates abroad, effectively blocking same-sex couples from becoming parents through surrogacy. This law, which has been described as the most restrictive in the West, threatens those involved in international surrogacy with jail time and heavy fines, regardless of where the surrogacy takes place.
Surrogacy has long been banned within Italy’s borders, but this new legislation goes further by extending the ban to cover international surrogacies as well. The law was passed by the Senate after a heated debate that lasted for several hours, with 84 senators voting in favor and 58 against the measure. The law treats surrogacy as a universal crime, placing it alongside serious offenses like terrorism. It applies to any Italian citizen, even if the surrogacy process occurs in a country where it is legal.
Critics argue that the new law unfairly targets same-sex couples, especially male couples, who will find it almost impossible to hide their use of surrogacy. While heterosexual couples might pass unnoticed when returning to Italy with a newborn, a gay couple is likely to raise suspicions when traveling with a child. Alessia Crocini, the head of the advocacy group Rainbow Families, emphasized that this law specifically harms gay fathers by making it difficult for them to start families.
Same-sex couples in Italy are already prohibited from adopting children domestically or internationally, so surrogacy was one of the last remaining options for gay couples to have children. The new law now closes that door, leaving these couples with limited, if any, legal avenues to parenthood.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, known for her conservative stance, has championed this law as part of her broader effort to reinforce traditional family values in Italy. Her government has made several moves to roll back LGBTQ+ rights, including attempts to prevent same-sex parents from registering their children’s birth certificates. In defense of the new law, supporters argue that it is intended to protect women and children. Senator Susanna Campione, a member of Meloni’s political party, stated that surrogacy reduces women to “reproductive machines” and that the law is necessary to uphold what she calls “civilized” values.
Despite these justifications, the law has faced strong opposition from LGBTQ+ activists, progressive lawmakers, and legal experts. Opponents claim that the law infringes on personal freedoms and discriminates against gay couples in particular. Senator Alfredo Bazoli, who voted against the law, said that the measure sends a clear message: Italy is not opening doors to new rights but closing them instead.
There are also concerns about how the law will be enforced, particularly when it comes to monitoring surrogacies that occur outside of Italy. Legal experts argue that it will be difficult for Italian authorities to gather the necessary evidence to prosecute individuals involved in surrogacies abroad. Additionally, there are questions about when the crime would officially take place—whether at the signing of a contract, at the time of birth, or at some other point in the surrogacy process.
In practice, the law may also lead to social tension, with the possibility of reports being filed against same-sex parents by neighbors, doctors, or other individuals who disapprove of their family structure. LGBTQ+ advocates warn that this could create a climate of fear for same-sex couples who are raising children in Italy.
The new law comes at a time when the debate over surrogacy is heating up globally. Pope Francis has called for a worldwide ban on surrogacy, referring to it as “womb renting.” Meanwhile, countries across Europe, including Germany and France, already ban domestic surrogacy, but this law makes Italy’s stance one of the strictest by targeting international surrogacies as well.
For same-sex couples like Salvatore Scarpa and his partner Luca Capuano, who used a surrogate in California to have their daughter Paola, the law presents serious challenges. They have been unable to register their daughter as an Italian citizen and now face the possibility of legal action if they attempt to have another child through surrogacy. Despite these hurdles, Scarpa and Capuano remain determined to build their family, even if it means taking risks to do so.
As the law takes effect, it remains to be seen how strictly it will be enforced and what impact it will have on the lives of same-sex couples in Italy. For now, the LGBTQ+ community faces an uncertain future, with many questioning whether this is the beginning of a broader rollback of rights under Meloni’s government.
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