Criticism from doctors

Criticism of doctors: dispute in Italy over surrogate mother ban

Critics, however, believe that homosexual or infertile couples are being denied the opportunity to have children of their own.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Yakobchuk Olena - stock.adobe.com)

In Italy, the commercial carrying of children by foreign mothers has been banned since 2004. Now there is a dispute over a new law that also prohibits surrogate mothers from carrying children abroad. 

The medical profession has rejected calls by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to report such cases from abroad to the Italian authorities immediately in future as a call for "denunciation". These cases often involve surrogate motherhood in countries such as Ukraine or Georgia.

Prison sentences possible in future
With the majority of the right-wing coalition that has been in power for two years, parliament passed a law last week that also provides for penalties for Italian couples who use women abroad for such services. In future, they could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to one million euros.

About surrogacy

In surrogacy, a woman carries a child for so-called intended parents and leaves it to them after the birth. According to estimates, around 250 couples in Italy use the services of foreign surrogate mothers every year. The vast majority of these are heterosexual relationships.

Protests against the decision
The coalition of three right-wing and conservative parties justifies the ban on the grounds that the traditional family should be better protected. Critics, however, believe that homosexual or infertile couples will be deprived of the opportunity to have children of their own. This is why there were already protests against the decision last week.

Surrogacy "worse than paedophilia"
Family Minister Eugenia Roccella has now caused a new stir. The MP from Meloni's right-wing party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) told the TV station La7: "A civil servant - and a doctor too - is obliged to report cases of suspected violations of the surrogacy law to the public prosecutor's office." For her, there is "no difference" between surrogacy and buying or selling a child, which is a crime anywhere in the world. Other Fratelli politicians had previously said that surrogacy was "worse than pedophilia".

The president of the Italian medical association Fnomceo, Filippo Anelli, rejected the minister's call. "Our job is to heal, not to denounce."

Geburtenrate niedrig

In Italien herrscht „demografischer Winter“

The birth rate in Italy continued to fall in 2023. 379,000 births were reported last year, 14,000 fewer than in 2022, Italy's statistical office ISTAT recently announced. This corresponds to 6.4 births per 1,000 inhabitants. The number of births in Italy has fallen by 34.3 percent since 2008, the last year with an increase.

The average number of children per woman fell from 1.24 in 2022 to 1.20 in 2023. The historical minimum is 1.19 children, which was registered in 1995.