The children of dozens of same-sex couples in Italy could see their non-biological father's name deleted from their birth certificates, an ongoing trial may soon rule.
Last June, the public prosecutor in the city of Padua in northern Italy demanded the cancellation of 33 birth certificates issued to children of same-sex couples in the city since 2017.
“Message received [from the state prosecutor] “It was like being slapped,” Valentina Bagnara and Daniela Giotto, a couple with a two-year-old daughter involved in the case, told Sky News.
This step came after the Prime Minister Georgia Meloni The government – which firmly believes that children should be raised by heterosexual parents – has begun requiring councils to register only the biological parent.
“If my name is removed from my daughter's birth certificate, I will always need written permission from Valentina. For example, to pick her up from school or take her to a doctor's appointment,” says Daniela, the non-biological mother.
She added: “I could not allow medical procedures to save her life, and in the worst case, if Valentina died, Katerina would be declared an orphan and could be adopted.”
LGBT+ Human rights activists say the trial, which is scheduled to deliver its verdict at the end of the month, is the latest case to highlight the discrimination faced by gay parents in… Italy.
What made this legal case possible was the lack of a national law protecting the rights of children of same-sex couples.
A letter from the state prosecutor
Using this loophole, some gay-friendly city councils across the country since 2018 have quietly begun listing same-sex parents on their children's birth certificates.
“What these mayors did is basically illegal,” says Jacopo Coggi, spokesman for Pro Vita e Famiglia, an association that works to promote Christian family values based on marriage between a man and a woman. “We are talking about children who are deprived of a father figure. We are against that.”
Valentina Bagnara and Daniela Giotto
The case of Padua has gained national attention, with people on social media sharing photos of themselves with a sign reading #iosonoapadova (#I'mInPadua).
“It's the stigma attached to homosexuality,” said Susanna Lollini, a lawyer representing some of the couples in the trial. “If we pass a law that protects children of same-sex couples, it means there will no longer be a stigma towards gay families.”
