Italy's Constitutional Court said on Thursday that same-sex female couples who use in vitro fertilization (IVF) abroad can both be legally recognized as parents in Italy, even if one is not the biological mother.

The ruling is likely to be welcomed by Italian 2SLGBTQ+ groups who have repeatedly clashed with the conservative government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a self-declared enemy of what she and her allies call the "LGBT lobby."

The court found that denying legal recognition to the non-biological mother violates the constitutional principles of equality and personal identity and violates the child's rights to care, education and emotional continuity from both parents.

The decision strikes down part of a 2004 law that did not allow both women in a same-sex couple to be registered as legal mothers, even if both consented to the procedure.

Marilena Grassadonia, a 2SLGBTQ+ rights activist from the Italian Left opposition party, said the ruling marked a "historic day" that "restores dignity and serenity to the many rainbow families who live in our country."

Case questioned legality of denying 'full dual parenthood'

The case was brought by a court in the Tuscan city of Lucca, which questioned the legality of denying "full dual parenthood" in a case involving a lesbian couple.

The judges noted that confusion over the law had led to inconsistent rulings in various courts. This has left individual mayors, who control the civil registry in their municipalities, to make differing decisions in comparable cases.

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In some cases, both mothers were listed on the child's birth certificate; in others, the non-biological mother was excluded.

"These divergent outcomes reflect a shifting social reality to which the legislature has yet to respond," the referral said.

In a separate verdict also released on Thursday, the Constitutional Court said rules preventing single women from accessing IVF were not unconstitutional, but said they could be changed if political will for it emerged in parliament.

The politics of fertility 

The ruling did not alter Italy's current restrictions on access to IVF, which is still limited to heterosexual couples, but marked a shift toward the recognition of 2SLGBTQ+ parenting rights. Nor does it change a 2024 ruling that made it illegal for couples to go abroad to have a baby via surrogacy — which activists say is meant to target same-sex partners.

Since taking office in 2022, Meloni has pursued a highly conservative social agenda, looking to promote what she sees as "traditional family values," making it progressively harder for LGBTQ+ couples to become legal parents.

Experts say the anti-surrogacy movement is rapidly gaining momentum among the newly empowered far-right parties of Europe. 

These narratives have also gained hold in Poland, Spain and even progressive Sweden, where politicians who have taken similar lines on surrogacy and LGBTQ+ parental rights have been met with broad support. 

Last month, the Spanish government banned its embassies and consulates from registering children born through surrogates in foreign countries.