Domestic surrogacy was already banned in Italy. Now the government is going one step further.
In Italy, parliament passed a law that criminalizes the use of surrogacy abroad. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition justifies the ban by saying that the traditional family should be protected. From the perspective of critics, however, homosexual or infertile couples are deprived of the opportunity to have children. The Washington Post speaks of the strictest law on surrogacy in the Western world.
In Italy itself, surrogacy is already illegal. However, Meloni’s right-wing three-party coalition wants to expand the ban to also punish Italians who seek surrogacy in countries where it is legal. The Senate now approved the corresponding bill with 84 votes to 58. The House of Representatives, the other chamber of parliament, had already agreed.
In surrogacy, a woman carries a child for so-called intended parents and leaves it to them after the birth. In Germany, as in many other countries, surrogacy is prohibited. Mediation is also punishable in Germany. In some countries, however, surrogacy is permitted with certain restrictions. Intended parents therefore go abroad to do this.
