Italy Is Removing Lesbian Moms' Names From Their Children's Birth Certificates

Italy’s right-wing government is removing lesbian mothers’ names from their children’s birth certificates as part of a crackdown on same-sex parenting and surrogacy. 

In the northern city of Padua, 27 mothers have been removed from their children’s birth certificates, CNN reported Friday . And in Bergamo, at least one mom was removed from her child’s birth certificate, the Daily Mail reported.

The draconian new measure allows only a child’s biological parent to be listed on their birth certificate. The measure will also block men in same-sex relationships from registering the birth of their child with both dads’ names, according to CNN .

The extremist new law was put into place by Premier Giorgia Meloni, the country’s first female prime minister. She has routinely attacked what she has called the “the LGBT lobby , and has said she wants to ensure that “all babies are born from a man and a woman,” according to CNN. 

Meloni’s party, the Brothers of Italy, has roots in the country’s neo-fascist movement .

“The ban is one of the most concrete manifestations of the fury that the right-wing majority is unleashing against LGBTI people,” Gabriele Piazzoni, secretary general of Arcigay, Italy’s largest LGBTQ+ rights group, told Reuters. 

Michela, a 38-year-old lesbian mom who spoke to the Daily Mail, said she “cried for ten days when I opened the letter” revealing her name had been removed from her child’s birth certificate. 

“I suspect the government is afraid that a family that looks different, like ours, can be as happy – maybe even happier sometimes – as a traditional family,” Michela told the publication. “On paper, they say Giulia has one mother but we know she has two. We will do everything possible to prove we are a good family.”