Italy bans overseas surrogacy for all citizens amid declining birthrate: 'A child is always a gift'

Italy has tightened its surrogacy prohibition to see citizens who take to question to countries similar Canada oregon the United States for surrogate mothers.

The Italian Senate passed a measure connected Wednesday criminalizing citizens who spell overseas to countries wherever it is ineligible to acquisition children done surrogacy. The measure passed 84-58 and level statement lasted astir 7 hours.

The measure extends an archetypal prohibition enactment successful spot successful 2004 which criminalized commercialized surrogacy wrong Italy. The measure was promoted by right-wing parties, the Brothers of Italy and the League. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni leads the Brothers of Italy party.

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Meloni, the archetypal pistillate and parent Premier successful Italian history, has called surrogacy "a awesome of an abominable nine that confuses tendency with rights and replaces God with money."

Supporters of the measure assertion that extending the surrogacy prohibition overseas protects women's dignity, portion opponents person called it discriminatory toward same-sex couples.

Under the bill, Italian citizens seeking surrogate mothers successful countries wherever the signifier is ineligible volition look up to $1.1 cardinal successful fines and 2 years' jailhouse time.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addresses the media alongside Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (not pictured) aft their gathering astatine Villa Doria Pamphilj successful Rome, Italy, connected October 10, 2024. (Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Pope Francis has called for the extremity of commercialized surrogacy worldwide arsenic precocious arsenic January of this year, a signifier which the pontiff calls "deplorable." 

"I deem deplorable the signifier of alleged surrogate motherhood, which represents a sedate usurpation of the dignity of the pistillate and the child, based connected the exploitation of situations of the mother's worldly needs," said the Pope.

While the Vatican condemns commercialized surrogacy, it does not contradict children calved done surrogate mothers sacraments similar baptism.

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Pope Francis asserted, a "child is ever a acquisition and ne'er the ground of a commercialized contract."

Opponents of the Italian surrogacy prohibition assertion that the measure hurts same-sex couples who privation families. Italy is presently facing a record-low birthrate astatine 1.2 children per pistillate recorded successful 2023.

Italy, Spain, France and Germany each prohibition surrogacy outright. The UK, however, allows for surrogates to beryllium compensated wrong a tenable magnitude of their regular expenses. In the United States, commercialized surrogacy is not regulated by the national government.

ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 15: People partecipate successful the Demonstration successful Piazza Vidoni adjacent the Senate organized by Italian LGBTQIA+ associations and governmental parties that reason the Varchi bil, connected October 15, 2024, successful Rome, Italy. The Varchi Bill is acceptable to summation support from the Italian Parliament, which efficaciously criminalises parenthood for LGBTQIA+ radical and strengthens Italy's already strict surrogacy (GPA) laws. Gestation for Others (GPA) is already amerciable successful Italy. Still, the instrumentality presented to the Senate contiguous by Carolina Varchi, lawman of Fratelli d'Italia intends to fortify the ban, extending it to surrogacy carried retired abroad. (Simona Granati - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Children calved via surrogate mothers successful the United States whitethorn person the lawsuit couple's sanction connected commencement certificates, and often instrumentality the kid distant from his oregon her commencement parent immediately.

The surrogacy prohibition applies arsenic to each couples, but lone those successful heterosexual marriages are legally capable to follow children successful Italy. Same-sex matrimony is banned successful Italy.

Activists with the LGBTQ question protested earlier the Italian Senate in absorption to the caller law, with immoderate banners reading, "Parents, not criminals."

 "Commercial surrogacy, arsenic presently practised successful immoderate countries, usually amounts to the merchantability of children," wrote a Special Rapporteur for the United Nations successful a 2018 report.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.