Society: Controversy in Italy over surrogate mother ban

There is a dispute in Italy over a new law that also prohibits surrogates from having children abroad. The medical profession rejected demands from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government to immediately report such cases from abroad to the Italian authorities in the future, as a call for “denunciation”. This often involves surrogacy in countries such as Ukraine or Georgia.

In Italy, the commercial carrying of children by foreign mothers has been banned since 2004. With the majority of the right-wing coalition, which has been in office for two years, parliament passed a law last week that also provides for penalties for Italian couples who use women abroad for such services. In future this will result in up to two years in prison and a fine of up to one million euros.

Family Minister calls on doctors to go to the public prosecutor’s office

The coalition of three right-wing and conservative parties justifies the ban by saying that the traditional family should be better protected. From the perspective of critics, however, homosexual or infertile couples are deprived of the opportunity to have their own children. That’s why there were protests against the decision last week.

Family Minister Eugenia Roccella now caused new excitement. The MP from Meloni’s right-wing Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party told TV channel La7: “An official – and also a doctor – is obliged to report cases of suspected violations of the surrogacy law to the public prosecutor’s office.” For her, there is “no difference” between surrogacy and buying or selling a child, which is a crime anywhere in the world. Other Fratelli politicians had previously said that surrogacy was “worse than pedophilia.”

Doctors: “Our job is to heal, not to denounce”

The president of the Italian medical association Fnomceo, Filippo Anelli, rejected the minister’s request. “Our job is to heal, not to denounce,” said the doctor. Anelli referred to the medical code of honor and also to the Italian penal code, according to which a doctor is exempt from the obligation to report if such a report would expose the patient to criminal proceedings.

In surrogacy, a woman carries a child for so-called intended parents and leaves it to them after the birth. In Germany, this is prohibited, as is mediation. In other countries, however, surrogacy is permitted. According to estimates, around 250 couples in Italy use the services of foreign surrogate mothers every year. The vast majority of these are heterosexual relationships.