Translated material
Gemini, but not brothers
Gay pair in Italy is trying to register children born of a surrogate mother
In mid -2015, twins were born in California. They were given birth to a surrogate mother at the request of a young gay-para from Milan. In Italy, surrogate motherhood is prohibited - as well as the adoption of children with same -sex parents. When the fathers brought the twins to Milan, it turned out that they could not register children. The couple went to court, who ruled that children, although they were twins, cannot be considered brothers under Italian laws. The Washington Post tells about a unique story from Italy.
Parents whose names do not call the press at their own insistence, decided to use the services of a surrogate mother abroad for a reason. Italy is one of the most conservative countries in Europe from the point of view of legislation in the field of reproductive rights. It is prohibited by surrogate motherhood and even artificial fertilization is possible only for heterogeneous couples consisting of a registered marriage, and only on condition that each spouses will provide their own sperm and eggs - donation is prohibited.
Under these conditions, many Italians are looking for surrogate mothers in other countries - most often in the USA and Canada, but also, for example, in Ukraine. And when babies are brought to Italy, problems begin. In some cases, Italian law allows you to take away from the parents a child born of a surrogate mother and give for adoption. According to The Washington Post, this happens quite rarely - as a rule, if there is reason to believe that a surrogate mother lives in a dysfunctional country where her rights can be violated. In recent years, this has happened several times - at least twice when the children were brought from Ukraine.
The twins born in California, most likely, would not have been taken away from parents. However, the Milan couple, bringing the children to Italy, faced the fact that she could not register them - the clerk simply refused to write out birth certificates. After that, the men went to court. Initially, the judge rejected their lawsuit, but after the appeal he was partially satisfied. The court ruled that each of the parents can register children as their biological sons. However, they cannot be considered their common children. Therefore, they cannot be considered brothers.
No arguments did not affect the court - including the one that both were born from one mother. The court recognized the right to paternity for both men because both provided their sperm for fertilization. However, if one of the fathers registers one of the twins as his biological child, the second will not be able to adopt him-the adoption is allowed only by heterogeneous couples.
Italian human rights activists argue that the case of the Milan couple is not only unique, but also inspires optimism. Firstly, the court set the interests of the child (in this case-the right of twins to parents) above the legal circumstances of his birth. Secondly, the court will allow the twins to obtain Italian citizenship (before the court decision they were US citizens).
Despite the fact that last year a law was adopted in Italy that allowed one-sex pairs to register civilian unions, they are still forbidden to marry and adopt children (English).