In a shocking turn of events, Italy had begun erasing the names of gay parents from their children’s birth certificates. Here’s the full story.
She Received a Devastating Letter
Michela Leidi, a 38-year-old woman living on the outskirts of Bergamo, Italy, received a devastating letter in January.
The letter informed her that she was being officially canceled as the mother of her one-year-old daughter, Giulia, on the infant’s birth certificate.
This move was part of the Italian government’s attempt to crack down on same-sex parenting and surrogacy, imposing what they call “conservative moral values” in the country.
Michela, together with her 35-year-old wife Viola, found themselves among the first targets of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition government.
Claiming the Country Doesn’t Allow Kids to Have Two Moms
The government disapproved of LGBT+ couples raising children together and claimed that the country’s laws did not allow children to have two mothers.
As a result, the birth certificates of children born to lesbian couples were being altered to remove one mother, leaving only the biological mother with parenting rights.
This controversial move sparked outrage and debates across the nation.
Michela and Viola’s daughter was one of the first three children affected, but scores more were being targeted across the country.
And Using Same-Sex Parents as Scapegoats
The government defended its actions as an attempt to address legal gray areas, but critics argued that Meloni was using same-sex parents as scapegoats to divert attention from other pressing issues.
The situation intensified the ongoing ideological war in Italy’s political landscape.
Meloni, the country’s first female prime minister, campaigned against what she called “the LGBT lobby” and “gender ideology” during her rise to power.
However, her strong stance against same-sex parenting and support for traditional families brought her under scrutiny and criticism from human rights advocates.
Opposition from the Catholic Church
Italy legalized same-sex marriages in 2016, granting many rights to married LGBTQ+ couples.
However, the law stopped short of permitting marriage and adoption, largely due to opposition from the powerful Catholic Church.
Same-sex couples were also banned from accessing reproductive medical treatments such as IVF, forcing them to seek options abroad, like Spain or the US, if they wanted to have children.
The legal ambiguity surrounding same-sex couples being recognized as parents on official certification put the decision in the hands of local mayors, based on their personal views.
Heart-Wrenching Uncertainty for LGBT+ Families
The government’s recent directive claimed that such arrangements were illegal, citing a Supreme Court ruling from the previous year.
In response, mayors in some cities, like Padua, chose to defy the government’s crackdown and continued issuing birth certificates that recognized both mothers for babies born to same-sex couples.
However, in cities like Milan, Florence, and Fiumicino, birth certificates were altered to remove one mother, focusing on children born after the new directive. The situation created heart-wrenching uncertainty for LGBT+ families.
Couples like Vanessa Finesso and Cristina Zambon faced the threat of having parental rights stripped away from one of the mothers, causing distress, fear, and potential disruptions to their children’s lives.
Despite Positive Views on Same-Sex Marriage
Despite the government’s actions, polls showed that two-thirds of Italians held positive views on same-sex parenting and adoption.
Support for LGBTQ+ rights was on the rise, even though over half of Meloni’s supporters opposed adoption by same-sex couples.
Critics accused the government of engaging in a populist “witch-hunt,” betraying the global trend towards greater acceptance and equality for the LGBT+ community.
Italy Is Moving Backwards
Many believed that Italy was moving backward on issues of social progress, rather than moving forward.
Several social media users expressed their thoughts on the incident.
One Twitter user wrote, “My young neighbors are a lesbian married couple raising the most fantastic little girl I can’t see the logic behind this”
Another user wrote, “We should stop calling this “conservative”. It is abusive, moronic, and vicious behavior.”
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The post She Received Devastating News from the Italian Government Stating She No Longer Had Rights as a Mom Because She Is Gay first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
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Source: Daily Mail