Italy has banned international surrogacy, prohibiting homosexuals from purchasing children abroad, in what is said to be the most sweeping law of its kind in the world.
The new law, backed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, expands on Italy’s existing prohibition on domestic surrogacy, so that Italian citizens cannot use women in foreign countries to carry babies who will be legally transferred to them. Surrogacy clients and medical professionals who facilitate the practice abroad face jail time and considerable fines under the new law, which was approved by the Italian Senate 84 to 58 on Wednesday.
Homosexuals have been caught trying to purchase children through surrogacy to abuse them, such as in the case of a U.S. veterinarian arrested in March.