Italy’s new law restricting international travel for surrogacy services goes further than other countries, but same-sex couples face family planning hurdles across Europe.
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A new law banning Italians from traveling abroad for surrogacy is expected to make it more difficult for LGBTQ people to become parents, but Italy is not the only country where family planning is difficult for same-sex couples. do not have.
Italy’s restrictive approach to surrogacy is neither new nor unique. Many European countries have outright bans on surrogacy, while others have strict rules regarding citizenship, payment, and relationship status.
These rules have led some couples to travel to other locations for surrogacy (where a woman carries and delivers a baby on behalf of another person or couple).
Other European countries are similarly cracking down on international travel.
For example, France, where surrogacy is completely illegal, attempts to dissuade people from traveling for surrogacy services by refusing to register custody of couples whose children are born to surrogate mothers in the United States. However, this decision was rejected by the French government. European Court of Justice 2014.
But Italy’s new law extending a ban on surrogacy enacted in 2004 is considered to go further than any other country so far.
Supporters say it will protect women from exploitation, while critics say it will unfairly impact same-sex couples, especially gay men.
“Even though this law affects everyone, the debate has made it clear that it is aimed at continuing to further increase the chilling effect on Italy’s LGBTI community,” said Katrin, ILGA’s European advocacy director. – Hugendeuber told Euronews Health.
That could lead to increased social stigma and legal uncertainty for these families, she added, noting that last year the Italian government ordered regions to stop registering children of same-sex parents. pointed out.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Fertility Europe, an umbrella group for patient groups, said: “The lack of adequate regulation or legal prohibition does not eliminate the need for surrogacy; , which leads prospective parents to explore alternatives that often involve risks and give rise to ethical reservations.” ”.
But beyond Italy’s efforts, other European countries are also restricting same-sex couples from adopting, infertility treatment, and surrogacy (even if the relationship is legally recognized in the first place).
The map below shows how European countries stack up their family planning policies for LGBTQ people and same-sex couples.
According to an analysis by ILGA Europe, LGBTQ people can legally apply for joint adoption in 23 countries, meaning two non-biological parents become the legal parents of a child. .
Meanwhile, the analysis found that infertility treatment through artificial insemination is available to single people in 26 countries and couples in 17 countries, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
In some parts of Europe, “you can’t show in public that you have a same-sex partner…It’s very dangerous for people,” says Dr. Merriam Schoeller Okaku, a psychiatrist at the University Clinic of Psychiatry. . Charité, director of the European Institute for Women’s Health at St. Hedwig’s Hospital in Berlin, told Euronews Health.
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“It depends on the law, but it also depends on public opinion, tradition and religious issues. The range is very wide,” she added.
