ROME – Surrogacy is an “inhumane” practice that treats children like “supermarket products”, Italy’s prime minister urged parliament on Friday to pass a bill to prosecute those who go abroad for it.
Surrogacy is already illegal in Italy, punishable by prison terms and fines, but Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition has vowed to enforce it. an even stricter ban as part of his conservative agenda.
“No one can convince me that renting a womb is freedom, no one can convince me that accepting children as an over-the-counter product in the supermarket is an act of love.” The event in Rome.
“I still believe the practice of renting a uterus is inhumane, and I support the proposed law making it a universal crime.”
Italy’s parliament is debating a bill drafted by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party that would ban Italians from having children in countries where surrogacy is legal, such as the United States and Canada.
The position of the party is consistent with this of the Vatican.
The bill, which was approved by Italy’s lower house of parliament and is now in the Senate, has been criticized by rights groups and some opposition politicians, who see it as targeting LGBTQ people.
Former foreign minister Emma Bonino told the daily Corriere della Sera this week: “The issue can be resolved not with a universal ban, but with regulation that balances the rights at stake.”