Lesbian mums win back vital parental rights in Italy
A court in Italy has rejected anti-LGBTQ+ government attempts to erase the names of non-biological lesbian mothers from their children’s birth certificates.
Last June, a state prosecutor in the northern city of Padua demanded the cancellation of 33 birth certificates – going as far back as 2017 – issued for children with same-sex parents, a move that could have resulted in non-biological mums losing access to their children if the couple separated or the birth mother died.
The move came after prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition government ordered councils to register only the biological parent, prompting protests in London.
Leader of the Brothers of Italy party Meloni has been vocal in her wish to see children only raised by heterosexual parents. “I do not believe in a state that places the legitimate desire of a homosexual to adopt a child before the right of that child to have a father and a mother,” she said.
Despite the good news for LGBTQ+ parents, the prosecutors of the interior ministry could still appeal against the ruling. In a similar case in June, a Milan court ruled that a child’s birth certificate could have two mothers listed on it – but the decision was overturned last month.
Meanwhile, Italy’s first female prime minister continues to oppose what she calls the LGBT lobby.
“It’s their game. They want us to be parent one, parent two, LGBT gender, Citizen X… codes,” claimed Meloni, who has been likened by some to former US president Donald Trump – while Politico pointed out similarities in proposed electoral policy to those of war-time Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
“We are not codes, we are people and we will defend our identity,” she added.
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