Reuters
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The Italian Constitutional Court said Thursday that same-sex female couples using in vitro fertilization (IVF) overseas will be legally recognized as Italian parents, even if they are not biological mothers.
The ruling is likely to be welcomed by Italian LGBT groups who have repeatedly clashed with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the self-declared enemy of what she and her allies call the “LGBT lobby.”
The court found that refusing legal recognition to nonbiological mothers violates the constitutional principles of equality and individual identity, and the child’s right to care, education and emotional continuity from parents.
The decision broke some of the 2004 law that did not allow both women from same-sex couples to be registered as legal mothers, even if both agreed to the proceedings.
Marilena Galaddonia, an LGBT rights activist in the Italian left opposition, said the ruling marked a “historic day” that “restores dignity and tranquility to many rainbow families living in our country.”
The lawsuit was filed by a court in the Tuscan city of Lucca, which questioned the legality of rejecting “complete double parents” in cases involving lesbian couples.
The judge noted that confusion over the law led to inconsistent judgments in various courts. This left individual mayors who manage the civil registration of a municipality to make different decisions in comparable cases.
In some cases, both mothers are listed on the child’s birth certificate. In others, nonbiological mothers were excluded.
“These different outcomes reflect changing social realities that Congress has not yet responded to,” the introduction states.
The ruling did not change Italy’s current restrictions on access to IVF, but marked a shift towards recognition of LGBTQ parenting rights, although still limited to heterosexual couples.
Also, in another verdict released Thursday, the Constitutional Court said rules that prevent single women from accessing IVFs are not unconstitutional, but that they can be changed if political will emerge in Congress.
