Couples seeking surrogacy abroad won’t be able to register as co-parents in Italy
Surrogacy is illegal in Italy for both heterosexual and homosexual couples
By Steve Brown
Couples who seek surrogacy abroad won’t be able to be registered as co-parents to their children in Italy, the country’s high court ruled.
A couple from Trento had two children in Canada using an egg donor and surrogate mother but the Court of Cassation has now ruled that only the biological father can be listed as a legal parent on the birth certificate.
His partner will have to apply for special permission to become their adoptive father despite both being named on the Canadian birth certificates.
The couple won their first case at Trento’s Court of Appeal back in 2017 but the decision was challenged last year by the mayor of Trento and the Ministry of the Interior led by Matteo Salvini.
Judges claimed their decision is to ‘protect the dignity of pregnant women and the institution of adoption’.
In Italy, surrogacy is still illegal under all circumstances for both heterosexual and homosexual couples.