Italian lawmakers on Wednesday extended the country's ban on surrogacy to couples who seek it abroad, despite warnings the move would damage children's rights. The highly divisive bill, adopted by the Senate, makes Italians who seek surrogacy in other countries liable for prosecution on their return home. It was championed by the far-right Brothers of Italy party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a self-described "Christian mother" who won 2022 elections on a campaign of nationalism and traditional family values.
"The bill making renting wombs a universal crime is finally law," Meloni said on X, calling it "a common sense norm against the commodification of the female body and children". Rights groups, including LGBTQ activists, have slammed the law as "medieval", but Families Minister Eugenia Roccella said the "ban..
. puts us at the forefront among nations on the rights front". "People are not objects, children cannot be bought and you cannot sell or rent human body parts.
This simple truth, already contained in our legal system, that punishes as a crime the aberrant practice of surrogacy, can no longer be circumvented," she said. Under 2004 legislation, anyone involved in surrogacy in Italy faces three months to two years in jail and a fine ranging from 600,000 euros ($650,000) to one million euros. Until now, Italians who can afford it have been able to travel to countries where surrogacy is allowed, such as the United States or Canada.
Media reports suggest the vast major.
