According to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, this measure puts an end to the "renting of a womb." Couples who still have a child through a surrogate abroad risk facing multi-million euro fines and possibly imprisonment.
For Italian LGBT+ organisations, this is yet another attack on the desire of same-sex couples to have children. LGBT+ activist Franco Grillini told Reuters that this is a "monstrous law." Grillini also pointed out Meloni’s hypocrisy, as she hopes that Italians will have more children, but apparently children from LGBT+ couples do not count in this.
This is not the first measure from the Meloni government that impacts LGBT+ parents. Lesbian mothers received letters informing them that the non-biological parent would be removed from the birth certificate. In 2022, Meloni spoke out against the "LGBT+ ideology," a conservative right-wing dog whistle for a conspiracy theory that assumes LGBT+ people aim to turn others gay or make them question their gender identity.