The Constitutional Court of Italy has issued a ruling that will allow two women to be registered as mothers of a newborn conceived through assisted reproduction abroad.
This ruling contradicts the essence of the traditional family and poses a direct threat to the fundamental values of society.
The decision, celebrated by LGBT activists, clashes with the policies of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, which defends a family structure based on biology and marriage between a man and a woman.
The case originated in Lucca, Tuscany, where a married lesbian couple fought to register their child as the descendant of both women. Italian law only recognized the biological mother, forcing the other woman to seek legal adoption.
In its ruling on May 22, 2025, the Constitutional Court declared this restriction unconstitutional, citing Articles 2, 3, and 30 of the Constitution, which protect fundamental rights, equality, and the welfare of the child. According to the court, denying recognition to the non-biological mother harms the child by depriving them of a full legal relationship with both parents.
This ruling represents a direct attack on the traditional conception of the family, which in Italy has historically been defined by biological ties and heterosexual marriage.
The pro-life and pro-family organization Pro Vita e Famiglia condemned the ruling as a “mockery of human nature,” arguing that equating parenthood to a voluntary act rather than biology undermines the meaning of family.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has staunchly defended the traditional family, promoting policies that reinforce the role of mother and father as pillars of society.
In 2023, the Ministry of the Interior issued a directive prohibiting the automatic registration of non-biological mothers, reflecting the government’s commitment to protecting the classical family structure.
However, this court decision undermines those efforts, opening the door to a model of parenthood that critics say lacks a natural foundation.
Italy remains one of the most conservative countries in the European Union on LGBT rights. Assisted reproduction is restricted to married heterosexual couples, and surrogacy is penalized with fines of up to one million euros and prison sentences—even for procedures legally performed abroad.
These laws reflect widespread societal resistance to accepting alternative definitions of family.
The ruling normalizes a family model that confuses children and weakens traditional gender roles. According to a report by the Novae Terrae Foundation, 68% of Italians believe that a family should be composed of a man and a woman—evidence of widespread rejection of such changes.
The Constitutional Court stated that parenthood is an “act of will and shared responsibility”—a definition that, for defenders of the traditional family, ignores the importance of biological complementarity between men and women.
This perspective stands in contrast to countries like Spain, where same-sex parent families are fully recognized. In Italy, however, where Catholic tradition remains a cultural cornerstone, the ruling is seen as an affront.
The ruling by the Constitutional Court marks a turning point that threatens to erode the foundations of the traditional family in Italy.
The family, as the core of society, is not a malleable construct; it is a natural structure that ensures social stability and the integral development of children. Allowing two women to be recognized as mothers without biological ties not only contradicts Italian tradition—deeply rooted in Catholicism—but also risks the cultural identity of the country.
The question is: how long will Italy be able to withstand the pressure of progressive ideologies seeking to impose a model of family stripped of its natural roots?
Defending the traditional family is not an act of intolerance but a commitment to preserving an institution that has proven to be the cornerstone of Western civilization.
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