Children of dozens of same-sex couples in Italy could have their non-biological parents’ names removed from their birth certificates, an ongoing court could soon rule.
Last June, the state prosecutor’s office in Padua, northern Italy, requested the cancellation of 33 birth certificates issued to children of same-sex couples in the city since 2017.
“When I receive the letter, [from the state prosecutor] It felt like a slap in the face,” Valentina Bagnara and Daniela Ghiotto, a couple with a two-year-old daughter involved in the incident, told Sky News.
This move was made after the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s The government, which firmly believes that children should be raised by heterosexual parents, began requiring councils to register only biological parents.
“If my name was removed from my daughter’s birth certificate, I would always need Valentina’s written permission. For example, I would need Valentina’s written permission to pick her up from school or take her to a doctor’s appointment. ” says Daniela, a mother without a child.
“I cannot authorize life-saving medical treatment and, in the worst case scenario, if Valentina dies, Katerina could be declared an orphan and put up for adoption,” he added.
letter from state prosecutor
LGBT+ Human rights activists say the case, expected to be decided by the end of this month, is the latest case to highlight the discrimination faced by same-sex parents in the United States. Italy.
This lawsuit was made possible by the lack of national laws protecting the rights of children of same-sex couples.
Taking advantage of this loophole, since 2018 some LGBT-friendly city councils across the country have quietly begun listing same-sex parents on children’s birth certificates.
“What these mayors have done is fundamentally illegal,” said Jacopo E. Familia, a spokesman for Pro Vita e Familia, an organization that promotes Christian family values based on marriage between a man and a woman. Kohe says. “We’re talking about children who have been deprived of a father figure. We stand against that.”
Valentina Bagnara and Daniela Ghiotto
The incident in Padua city has garnered national attention, with people sharing photos of themselves holding signs that read #iosonoapadova (#I’mInPadua) on social media.
“This is anti-gay prejudice,” said Susanna Lorini, a lawyer who represents some couples in court. “If laws were passed to protect the children of same-sex couples, there would be no more prejudice against LGBT families.”