Senate gives final OK to bill against surrogacy

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 16 - The Senate on Wednesday gave final approval with 84 votes in favour, 58 against and no abstentions to a bill making surrogacy a universal crime, even if it is carried out abroad by Italian citizens.
    The bill was previously greenlighted by the Lower House on July 26, 2023.
    Opposition lawmakers, who voted against the measure, have slammed it as "useless", "unconstitutional", and "against children and same-sex couples".
    In Italy, surrogacy has been illegal since 2004.
    The measure makes gestation for others punishable by law even if committed abroad, but only for Italian citizens.
    Surrogacy became a hot topic under the right-ring government of Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy (FdI) party presented the legislation that allows the prosecution of Italians who resort to using surrogate mothers in countries like Spain and the US where it is legal, making it a "universal crime". (ANSA).