The conservative revolution in Italy, led by Giorgia Meloni, has progressed with the passing of the so-called Varchi law, which constitutes surrogacy as a universal crime.
Surrogacy, where a woman carries a child for another couple, irrespective of payment, has been illegal in Italy since 2004, but the current modifications restrict Italian citizens from traveling abroad to partake in this practice.
The law was passed with the support of 166 lawmakers, against 109 opponents and four abstentions.
Most left-wing opposition parties rejected the law, except for two groups, including one associated with former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who allowed their members freedom of choice, with four choosing to support the law.
The Varchi law positions surrogacy as a “universal crime”, penalized by prison terms ranging from three months to two years, and fines up to one million euros.
Carolina Varchi, the legislator from Fratelli d’Italia who proposed the law and lent her name to it, maintains that “motherhood is unique, irreplaceable, and non-transferable,” and this law ensures “no child will be discriminated or bought by wealthy clients.”
“Human life is a commodity that cannot be commercialized, motherhood cannot be exchanged for monetary compensation, a child cannot be marketed, and this market must end,” says Varchi.
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