The public prosecutor of Padua, Valeria Sanzari, has requested the annulment of 33 birth certificates of children of same-sex couples registered since 2017, arguing that Italian law does not recognize the figure of the “second mother” and does not allow a non-biological woman to give her surname to her child. The position of the Prosecutor’s Office argues that a birth certificate with two mothers “violates the law and the rulings of the Supreme Court.”
A lesbian couple has received a court notice in which the Prosecutor’s Office requests the court modify the birth certificate of their daughter, who will soon turn six, by eliminating the reference to two mothers and changing the double surname, leaving only that of the biological mother.
The Prosecutor’s Office argues that, due to the minor’s young age, the change of surname will not affect her social life. The government led by Giorgia Meloni supports the prosecutor’s decision, stating that in Italy marriage is only between a man and a woman, and only the biological parent can register his or her surname.
This initiative has generated outrage in Italy’s LGBTQ+ community. Parliamentarian Alessandro Zan, a gay rights advocate, claims that these children are being made orphans by decree and calls the decision cruel and inhumane.
In 2016, the Italian government approved the legalization of same-sex civil unions, but couples were not granted full adoption rights. This was mainly due to fears of facilitating surrogacy, which remains illegal in Italy. Due to the lack of clear legislation, some courts have allowed the adoption of the children of same-sex couples, and some mayors, such as that of Padua, have registered the births of the children of same-sex couples.