Italy’s parliament passed a law on Wednesday banning couples from traveling abroad to have children via surrogacy, a move backed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s conservative party. The new legislation expands an existing 2004 surrogacy ban in Italy, imposing penalties of up to two years in prison and fines as high as 1 million euros for those who seek surrogacy services in countries like the U.S. and Canada, where it remains legal.
Meloni, who has been in office since 2022, has focused on promoting traditional family values, with critics accusing her government of making it more difficult for LGBTQ couples to become parents. Demonstrators protested the bill near the Senate, arguing that the ban unfairly targets same-sex couples, though activists note that most Italians who pursue surrogacy are heterosexual couples doing so in secret.
Meloni has previously called surrogacy “inhuman” and likened it to treating children as commodities. The legislation was passed amid concerns over Italy’s declining birthrate, which hit a record low in 2023.
