In recent years, certain city registrars in Italy started recording only the biological mother's name on birth certificates, omitting her partner's name. However, Italy's Constitutional Court has determined that two women can both be recognized as parents on a child's birth certificate. The court stated that parental rights cannot be limited to just the biological mother in families with same-sex parents. It ruled that it is unconstitutional for city registrars to deny recognition to children born to same-sex couples from both the biological mother and the woman who consented to the medically assisted pregnancy and took on parental responsibilities.
LGBTQ+ advocates celebrated the ruling, calling it a "historic day for civil rights in Italy." The pro-LGBTQ+ group Rainbow Families stated, "At last, our long-held belief is being recognized: boys and girls have the right to have both parents acknowledged from birth, even when they have two mothers." They emphasized that the ruling serves as a reminder to politicians that, constitutionally, it is "no longer possible to pretend we do not exist."
In contrast, the association Pro Life and Family criticized the ruling as illogical, claiming it casts thousands of children born to same-sex parents into "an existential joke."
In recent years, certain city registrars in Italy started recording only the name of the biological mother on birth certificates, omitting the name of her partner. As a result, the non-biological mother had to go through an adoption process to gain legal rights and responsibilities for the child. This limited recognition of parental rights was established by a law in 2004. However, in 2023, a circular from the Interior Ministry reinstated these restrictions as part of the far-right government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which aims to combat surrogacy and promote traditional family values.
The ruling does not consider the legality of medically assisted reproduction. Italy imposes strict regulations on IVF and has prohibited surrogacy since 2004. Last year, the country extended this ban to make it a criminal offense for Italians to seek surrogacy services abroad.
