Reversing a 2017 court decision, the Italian Court of Appeal has ruled that the non-biological father of two children born to a surrogate mother abroad could not be designated as the children’s legal parent. In this case, a homosexual couple used an oocyte donor and a surrogate mother; the babies were born in Canada.
According to the court, only the genetic father can be registered as the legal parent of the children, even though both men appear as legal parents on the children’s Canadian birth certificates. The non-biological father could nevertheless become the legal parent of the children via adoption. A number of Italian court decisions have accepted adoption by homosexual couples.
The couple’s lawyer, Alexander Schuster, noted that the decision did not specify the non-biological parent’s sex, suggesting broader implications: heterosexual couples using surrogacy will also be affected.
BioNews, Antony Starza-Allen (13/05/2019) – Italy will not recognise intended parent of surrogate-born child, court rules