By Sofia Bettiza BBC News, Italy –
Italian authorities are bringing in new measures targeting LGBT families and making it harder for them to have children. Many same-sex parents feel that a new law, which would make it illegal to have surrogacy abroad, is a personal attack against them.
“We have two options: to stay in Italy and face prison, or to run away.”
Husbands Claudio and Davide (not their real names) have a baby on the way through surrogacy – a woman in another country is carrying their son for them.
The practice is illegal in Italy and most of Europe, so couples travel to countries where it is legal – such as the US and Canada – and bring their babies back home.
But the Italian senate is set to approve a bill that would make surrogacy a “universal crime” – one so serious that it would be prosecuted even if committed abroad, like human trafficking or paedophilia.
No other country has a similar ban.
If the bill becomes law, couples like Claudio and Davide could face a fine of one million euros (£872,000) and up to two years in jail.
“I’m afraid that our child won’t have his parents because we will be in jail,” Claudio says.
The couple are terrified about what might happen to them and their child, and have asked us not to reveal their identities. They fear someone in the Italian government could find out who they are and target them.
They are getting ready to escape, seeking political asylum in more LGBT-friendly European countries. Davide is learning Dutch and Maltese in preparation.
“I feel like I’m being forced into exile, just for wanting to become a father,” he says.
It would be an incredibly difficult move for the couple, who would miss their supportive community.
“Our families and friends are all really looking forward to meeting the baby,” Claudio says.
And they are heartbroken at the thought of being forced out of Italy.
“I don’t want to leave my country. I am proud to be Italian,” Davide says.
“I’m trying my best to be a good citizen, and now I’m being treated like a criminal – just because I want to have a family.”
The surrogacy bill is part of the socially conservative agenda of Giorgia Meloni – Italy’s first female prime minister, whose Brothers of Italy party is a direct political descendant of a movement formed by members of Mussolini’s Fascist Party after the war.
She describes herself as a Christian mother and is a firm believer that a child should only be raised by a mother and a father.
This is a country where the influence of the Catholic Church has always been strong – gay marriage is illegal, and same-sex couples have fewer rights than in most of Western Europe.
