‘The state says our kids don’t exist’ — how LGBT life is changing in Italy

^{Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy}

Italian authorities are bringing in new measures targeting LGBT families and making it harder for them to have children. Many same-sex parents feel that a new law, which would make it illegal to have surrogacy abroad, is a personal attack against them. 

“We have two options: to stay in Italy and face prison, or to run away.”

Husbands Claudio and Davide (not their real names) have a baby on the way through surrogacy - a woman in another country is carrying their son for them.

The practice is illegal in Italy and most of Europe, so couples travel to countries where it is legal - such as the US and Canada - and bring their babies back home.

But the Italian senate is set to approve a bill that would make surrogacy a “universal crime” - one so serious that it would be prosecuted even if committed abroad, like human trafficking or paedophilia. 

No other country has a similar ban.

If the bill becomes law, couples like Claudio and Davide could face a fine...