00:00Has Italy passed an anti-LGBT surrogacy law?
00:07A raft of social media posts with thousands of shares, likes and views posted over recent weeks
00:13alleges that Italy has just introduced a law aimed at banning same-sex couples from having children via surrogacy.
00:20Many of the posts, such as this one, contain words like breaking to suggest that it's just happened,
00:26and others invite social media users to share their thoughts.
00:29The posts typically share generic stock photos of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney
00:34and some sort of LGBT rainbow flag with a red cross or band sign.
00:39None of them provide any extra information or links, however.
00:42So has Italy banned LGBT people from having children through surrogacy?
00:47Well, effectively it has, but not so recently.
00:50Back in October, Italy criminalised citizens who go abroad to have children via surrogacy,
00:55which critics said was discriminatory to same-sex couples as it shut down one of the last viable paths for them to become parents.
01:03The measure extended a surrogacy ban that had already been in place in Italy since 2004
01:07and introduced jail sentences of up to two years and fines of up to €1 million
01:12for any Italian seeking surrogacy in countries such as the US or Canada where it's legal.
01:17The ban and its extension apply equally to both heterosexual and same-sex couples,
01:22so it's wrong to call it a ban on LGBT surrogacy specifically.
01:26But it is in practice because critics said it disproportionately targets LGBT couples as they can't get married or adopt children either.
01:34Nevertheless, Italy's Constitutional Court ruled in May that two women can register as parents on a child's birth certificate,
01:43affirming that parental rights can't be limited to the biological mother.
01:47LGBTQ plus advocates celebrated the ruling as a step in the right direction,
01:51but ultimately it didn't change the surrogacy laws with strong restrictions still in place.
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