The Eurocentric: Italy Constitutional Court Recognizes Lesbian Mothers As Parents
Claudia Greco
In a historical case originating from Lucca, a city located in the Italian region of Tuscany, Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled that in the case of lesbian couples, both women can be legally recognized as mothers of a child born abroad through IVF. This decision partially invalidates legislation stemming from 2004 which banned this, even if both women signaled their approval of the other also being included legally as a mother on a child’s paperwork.
This ruling is a significant setback for Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister, who has positioned herself as a defender of conservative values and a vocal opponent of the LGBTQIA+ lobby. The case also resulted from differing interpretations of the 2004 legislation. Some mayors allowed for two mothers to be listed on documents for children, while others prohibited the practice. As clarified by Italy’s Constitutional Court, all municipalities must allow two mothers to be listed as parents.
Some IVF Access Restrictions Remain In Place
While the landmark case allows for LGBTQIA+ parents to be legally recognized as the parents of a child, the Constitutional Court did not grant LGBTQIA+ parents the right to access IVF within Italy. Instead, the court stated that the parliament could change this. The reasoning behind this is that the court stated that prohibiting single women and women in non-heterosexual relationships from IVF is not unconstitutional. Given the current ruling coalition in the Italian parliament, it is unlikely that legislation opening access to IVF will occur anytime soon.
Part of the controversy surrounding Meloni’s support for traditional values is related to her own family life. While a traditional family is historically considered to be a married mother and father with children in Western culture, this is not the case for Meloni. Meloni had a daughter with journalist Andrea Giambruno, but the couple never married. In 2023, they split up as a result of his inappropriate comments to coworkers.
An argument against two women being the legal parents is the insistence that children should be raised by a mother and a father. In the words of Meloni, not genitore uno and genitore due (parent one and parent two). The problem with this, however, is that kids are not always raised in this ideal situation, yet those parents are not punished. Because Meloni broke up with her long-term boyfriend, her son now lives without his father. Following this logic, in theory, divorce should be made illegal by Meloni in order to ensure that children are raised in a two-parent household. In 1980, 500,000 children in Italy were raised in a household with only one parent. This number has now ballooned to three million primarily as a result of divorce, yet this is still not a priority for Meloni.
The argument against LGBTQIA+ parents is the belief that children benefit from being raised by a mother and a father, yet the same situation occurs with heterosexual couples if they decide to break up the family. There can be motives for this that many would find justified, such as abuse and violence from the mother or father towards the other parent and/or children, but the result is still the same, as if a child is raised by an LGBTQIA+ couple. The child is no longer raised by a mother and a father within the same home.
Surrogacy Banned
This case is more significant considering it comes in the year after Italy banned surrogacies for everyone, not just LGBTQIA+ couples. This decision is partially controversial as the nation has one of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union, yet the Italian government does not make it easier for couples with fertility issues to have children. Giorgia Meloni appears to have conflicting priorities, yet is not willing to compromise. As a result, Italy will continue to have a demographic crisis as the average age in Italy continues to rise while fewer and fewer children are born. Italy currently has the fifth-oldest population in the world, with the average age reaching 48.4 years.
Surrogacy is framed as the exploitation of impoverished women. In reality, however, it is another way for some politicians to tell women that they cannot make their own decisions regarding reproduction. If a woman is fully capable of signing a contract with someone else in order to give birth to a child for them, should she really be banned from doing so? Complete opposition to surrogacy essentially assumes that women are incapable of making their own decisions.
A potential argument against surrogacy is that the baby is separated from the biological mother. However, simultaneously in nations such as Italy, where there is this debate, adoption is legal. Adoption explicitly permits the raising of a child by parents who are not biological parents. Opponents would likely respond by saying that it is different since the child already exists, yet again, this ignores people fully prepared to take on the challenges of parenthood and are openly looking to help Italy have more children and help ensure a future for the nation.
Conclusion
While this is a win for LGBTQIA+ families, the situation in general will likely remain difficult. Due to the conservative ruling coalition, legislation to allow more individuals to have access to IVF will likely not be passed anytime soon, under the claim that these individuals are not traditional. Simultaneously, Italy has still been modernizing, including electing its first female Prime Minister who had a child out of wedlock. One cannot genuinely claim to uphold tradition while fully embracing a modern lifestyle. Besides attempting to preserve these alleged traditional values, the demographic crisis is likely to have serious consequences in the future. If the birthrate does not rise, it is foolish to prevent people from becoming parents, particularly if they are willing to accept the responsibility of parenthood and carefully plan for it.
