House OKs universal crime of surrogacy

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 26 - The Lower House on Wednesday approved a bill making surrogacy a universal crime.
    The controversial measure, which now moves to the Senate, was presented by the centre-right majority, and would make gestation for others punishable by law even if committed abroad, but only for Italian citizens.
    Surrogacy, which is illegal in Italy, has become a hot topic under the right-ring government of Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy (FdI) party presented the bill that would prosecute Italians who resort to using surrogate mothers in countries like Spain and the US where it is legal, making it a "universal crime".
    FdI has said that gestation for others is "worse than paedophilia".
    In March the government drew criticism from the opposition and rights activists after it instructed city mayors to stop registering the children of same-sex couples using a procedure based on the transcription into Italian civic registers of the foreign birth certificates of children conceived via surrogacy or assisted fertility, which is only available to heterosexual couples in Italy, citing a ruling by the Court of Cassation, Italy's highest court.
    Centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) Secretary Elly Schlein has said she is personally in favour of surrogacy.
    (ANSA).