On
October
16,
2024,
Italy’s
Senate
passed
a
first-of-its-kind anti-surrogacy
law.
The
country
already
banned
surrogacy
—
an
arrangement
where
a
woman
carries
a
pregnancy
for
another
person
or
couple
—
within
its
borders.
But
the
new
law
takes
it
a
step
further,
criminalizing
the
actions
of
Italians
who
pursue
or
assist
with
surrogacy
arrangements
even
in
other
countries,
where
it
is
legally
supported,
such
as
the
United
States
or
Canada.
The
law
includes
penalties
for
“anyone
who
carries
out,
organizes,
or
advertised
the
commercialization
of
gametes,
embryos,
or
surrogacy,”
with
consequences
of
three
months
to
two
years
in
prison,
and
a
minimum
fine
of
600,000
euros!
The
law
is
incredibly
disappointing
for
hopeful
parents
in
Italy
who
are
unable
to
carry
a
pregnancy
on
their
own.
A
majority
of
Italians
seeking
surrogacy
assistance
are
heterosexual
couples
unable
to
carry
a
pregnancy
for
medical
reasons
—
a
not-surprising
fact
with
infertility
on
the
rise
globally.
However,
the
new
law
is
especially
devastating
for
LGBTQ+
parents,
who
already
face
a
ban
on
both
domestic
and
international
adoption
in
the
country,
and
now
lose
their
last
real
path
to
parenthood.
While
Italy’s
president
could
still
veto
the
bill,
that
is
expected
to
be
very
unlikely, given
her
and
her
political
party’s
conservative
platform,
which
is
openly
hostile
to
LGBTQ+
rights.
Attorneys,
You
May
Unknowingly
Be
Subject
To
This
Law. Italian
attorney
Alexander
Schuster
spoke
in
the
United
States
in
September
2024
to
a
conference
of
adoption
and
assisted
reproductive
technology
(ART)
law
attorneys.
He
explained
the
far-reaching
consequences
of
the
law,
including
a
legal
threat
even
to
some
U.S.
attorneys.
Schuster
described
how
some
U.S.
attorneys
may
be
subject
to
the
law
without
even
knowing
it.
Wait, how
would
that
work?
Well,
Italy
has
generous
rules
as
to
the
conveyance
of Italian
citizenship.
And,
in
essence,
any
American
who
has
an
Italian
ancestor
—
not
an
uncommon
lineage
—
may
be
entitled
to
Italian
citizenship.
There
are
exceptions
to
the
rule,
of
course,
including
if
the
Italian
ancestor
renounced
Italian
citizenship
when
acquiring
the
U.S.
one.
But
your
average
U.S.
attorney
with
an
Italian
great-grandparent,
as
wild
as
that
may
seem,
probably
qualifies
for
Italian
citizenship.
And
that
citizenship
through
ancestry,
Schuster
explained,
can
subject
a
U.S.
attorney
advising
on
surrogacy
matters
within
U.S.
borders
to
the
consequences
of
the
harsh
new
law.
The
same
reasoning
applies
to
nonattorneys,
as
well,
including
U.S.
fertility
doctors,
embryologists,
insurance
professionals,
agencies,
and
others,
who
support
surrogacy
arrangements
in
the
United
States
Of
course,
Schuster
points
out
that
Italian
citizenship
by
descent
does
not
actually
appear
anywhere
in
Italian
government
registers,
so
this
scenario
is
purely
theoretical,
and
enforcement
is
practically
impossible.
No
Italian
criminal
authority
is
likely
to
investigate
descent
and
impose
Italian
law
on
American
attorneys
practicing
exclusively
in
the
United
States.
Despite
its
theoretical
nature,
U.S.
attorneys
practicing
in
the
area
of
surrogacy
law
with
Italian
ancestry
may
want
to
think
twice
before
heading
over
for
their
favorite
gelato
or
a
Venetian
gondola
ride.
A
consequence
of
note
—
but
with
no
comparison
to
the
devastation
the
Italian
LGBTQ+
community
is
facing.
Ellen
Trachman
is
the
Managing
Attorney
of Trachman
Law
Center,
LLC,
a
Denver-based
law
firm
specializing
in
assisted
reproductive
technology
law,
and
co-host
of
the
podcast I
Want
To
Put
A
Baby
In
You.
You
can
reach
her
at [email protected].