For the first time, an Italian court has recognized the parentage of a non-biological dad in a same-sex couple.
The Higher Regional Court of Trento ruled last week that both men could be registered as legal parents of their twins. Their babies had been born via surrogate in Canada, which recognized the dads’ joint parentage—but when they returned to Italy, the city of Trento would only register the biological father. Now, both dads have legal ties to their children.
The ruling states that the Italian legal system should reject “a parenting model based solely on biological link between parent and child” (“un modello di genitorialitàesclusivamente fondato sul legame biologico fra il genitore e il nato”) and instead consider “the importance assumed by regulations on the concept of parental responsibility which is manifested in the conscious decision to breed and care for the child” (“l’importanza assunta a livello normativo dal concetto di responsabilitàgenitoriale che si manifesta nella consapevole decisione di allevare ed accudire il nato”). (H/t Articulo 29.)
This isn’t the first time an Italy court has recognized same-sex parents, although it is the first time for two dads. Last year, two female couples received permission for second-parent adoptions, and the Rome family court has granted at least 15 since 2014.
Such rulings are still on a case-by-case basis, however, and do not set precedent. The country passed a civil union bill last May, but without a provision to allow same-sex couples to adopt each other’s children. Marilena Grassadonia, president of the country’s Famiglie Arcobaleno (Rainbow Families) organization and one of the plaintiffs in last year’s cases, said this about the current case and the country’s situation:
In the absence of clear laws, we hope now that all the Italian courts follow the same road, the only one at the moment that can guarantee our sons and our daughters. Unfortunately, today it is not so and the children of same-sex families in Italy have different rights depending on where they were born, depending on which court can decide on their lives and on their families. It is an injustice that must be remedied as soon as possible.
(In assenza di leggi chiare, ci auguriamo ora che tutti i tribunali d’Italia seguano la stessa strada, l’unica che al momento possa garantire i nostri figli e le nostre figlie. Purtroppo oggi non è ancora così ei bambini delle famiglie omogenitoriali in Italia hanno diritti diversi a seconda di dove sono nati, a seconda di quale tribunale può decidere sulle loro vite e sulle loro famiglie. E’ un’ingiustizia che va sanata al più presto.)
Still, this is a sign of progress, and I assume a very happy occasion for the family involved. Congratulazioni!