Court OKs double surname for children of lesbian couples

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 5 - Judges in Padua on Tuesday rejected prosecution appeals against the possibility for both partners in a lesbian couple to be recognized as mothers of children conceived abroad but born in Italy through the attribution of a double surname on their birth certificate.
    The court declared inadmissible a request from the public prosecutor's office for only the surname of the biological mother and not also that of the so-called 'intentional' mother to appear on the birth certificates of 30 children of lesbian couples resident in the northern city.
    Padua Mayor Sergio Giordani described the ruling as "an important step for the children and their mothers".
    "Today love and the primary interest of the little ones have won through," he added.
    "It is a victory for courage and common sense over ideological fury," said Laura, one of the mothers involved in the case.
    "It is a victory for the network of lawyers who presented an unassailable defense over a sleeping parliament.
    "It is a victory for our children, who for now can continue to call us mothers," she concluded. (ANSA).