Italy is removing LGBTQIA+ parents from birth certificates

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People
Posted 25 July, 2023

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It’s one of many crackdowns on the queer community since far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni came to power.

Italy is often seen as the land of love. Breathtaking seascapes, decadent food, and an intoxicating language have earned it this status of romantic mecca. But the country’s government seems to be hell-bent on betraying love left right and centre.

That is, queer love.

Italy has begun removing the names of non-biological gay mothers from their children’s birth certificates, one of numerous crack-downs on the LGBTQIA+ community by Giorgia Meloni’s conservative government.

Meloni came to power in October 2022, and has established a far-right political landscape in Italy ever since.

The decision to remove the names of lesbian mothers from their children’s birth certificates is not just a bureaucratic change; it is a callous crackdown on queer people that will irrevocably tear families apart.

The LGBTQ+ community in Italy has long fought for recognition and acceptance, seeking to secure the same rights and privileges enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

The birth certificate holds deep emotional significance for any parent, regardless of their sexual orientation. It symbolises the moment of a child’s entry into the world—a celebration of life and love.

For a gay couple, it represents the culmination of their dreams, struggles, and sacrifices to create a family against societal odds.

To legally erase these parents is to cast doubt on the very essence of their parenthood, denying their children the acknowledgment of their complete and legitimate family.

It perpetuates the harmful message that certain families are lesser than others.

Countless studies have shown that children raised by same-sex parents exhibit the same levels of emotional well-being, social adjustment, and academic performance as those raised by heterosexual couples.

Yet Meloni’s far-right government seems determined to push an agenda of exclusion and division, threatening any progress made for the rights of LGBTQIA+ people.

While civil-unions were recognised for same-sex Italian couples in 2016, the country’s journey toward equality and acceptance has been bumpy, marked with enough setbacks to outweigh the progress. Same-sex marriage remains illegal, and lesbian couples cannot access fertility treatment.

Italy’s decision to remove the names of lesbian parents from birth certificates is a tragic and regressive step backward in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. It is a cruel blow to the principles of love, acceptance, and equality that should underpin any modern society.

It’s pushing Italy backwards into an archaic – and frankly dangerous – social landscape.

The prosecutor’s office in Padua confirmed that, as of this week, 27 mothers had been removed from 27 birth certificates.

Surrogacy is illegal in Italy, and as same-sex relationships aren’t recognised by law, the non-biological parent has to make a case for legally adopting their own child.

The measure will also stop men in same-sex relationships from registering the birth of their child with both fathers’ names. Instead, they have to choose one to be the legal father.

Beyond bureaucratic erasure, the move will impact the daily lives of same-sex couples in almost every way fathomable.

It will limit the rights of the non-registered parent, forcing them through legal hoops in order to carry out everyday tasks, like collecting their child from school or using public services on their behalf.

It’s a cruel blow to the principles of love, acceptance, and equality that should underpin any modern society.

The barriers erected between gay parents and their children are already plentiful. Retroactively removing non-biological queer parents from birth certificates further attacks the already expensive and precarious path to parenthood facing same-sex couples.

The right to create a family is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the European Convention on Human Rights – all of which Italy has accepted.

Human Rights Watch argues that Italy should immediately reinstate the parents removed from their children’s birth certificates and drop bans on the registration of children born to same-sex couples – suggesting that the country is mounting an attack on the LGBTQIA+ population.

‘Authorities should pass inclusive parental recognition bills that explicitly recognize the legal parenthood of non-gestational lesbian parents’, Erin Kilbride stated.

Indeed they should. But beyond bureaucratic change, we must all work together to create a society that celebrates love in all its forms – cementing a future where every child can see their family celebrated, cherished, and respected, regardless of their parents’ gender.

Flo Bellinger

Writer Brighton, UK

I’m Flo, (She/Her) a remote writer at Thred. I recently completed a Masters in Visual Anthropology, and seek to interrogate the ways digital spaces can amplify marginalised voices in the arts and cultural sectors. Follow me on LinkedIn or ping me some feedback via email.

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