Fact check: Has Italy just passed an anti-LGBT surrogacy law?

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Fact check: Has Italy just passed an anti-LGBT surrogacy law?  Italy extended its ban on surrogacy late last year, but posts are claiming that it happened recently.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/07/17/fact-check-has-italy-just-passed-an-anti-lgbt-surrogacy-law  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Has Italy passed an anti-LGBT surrogacy law?

00:07A raft of social media posts with thousands of shares, likes and views posted over recent weeks

00:13alleges that Italy has just introduced a law aimed at banning same-sex couples from having children via surrogacy.

00:20Many of the posts, such as this one, contain words like breaking to suggest that it's just happened

00:25and others invite social media users to share their thoughts.

00:29The posts typically share generic stock photos of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney

00:34and some sort of LGBT rainbow flag with a red cross or band sign.

00:39None of them provide any extra information or links, however.

00:42So has Italy banned LGBT people from having children through surrogacy?

00:47Well, effectively it has, but not so recently.

00:50Back in October, Italy criminalised citizens who go abroad to have children via surrogacy,

00:55which critics said was discriminatory to same-sex couples as it shut down one of the last viable paths for them to become parents.

01:03The measure extended a surrogacy ban that had already been in place in Italy since 2004

01:07and introduced jail sentences of up to two years and fines of up to 1 million euros

01:13for any Italian seeking surrogacy in countries such as the US or Canada where it's legal.

01:18The ban and its extension apply equally to both heterosexual and same-sex couples,

01:23so it's wrong to call it a ban on LGBT surrogacy specifically.

01:27But it is in practice because critics said it disproportionately targets LGBT couples

01:33as they can't get married or adopt children either.

01:36Nevertheless, Italy's constitutional court ruled in May that two women can register as parents

01:41on a child's birth certificate, affirming that parental rights can't be limited to the biological mother.

01:47LGBTQ plus advocates celebrated the ruling as a step in the right direction,

01:51but ultimately it didn't change the surrogacy laws with strong restrictions still in place.

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