More than a year ago, a gay couple welcomed their twin baby boys who were born from a surrogate mother to the world. However, problems have occurred after the couple wanted to register the twin babies as their own as an Italian court ruled that the twin brothers are not brothers at all.
The two men returned to Milan with their newborn babies but a clerk at the registry office refused to transcribe the birth certificates of the children. This became a legal impediment for the couple to register the twin babies as their legal children. The incident was a rare decision by a court as in the past, many cases concerning babies born to surrogates abroad since surrogacy is banned in Italy, Washington Post reported.
Initially, a judge ruled against the couple for the case to prosper. However, the gay couple appealed and a new trial took place.
The Italian court that heard them for the second time ruled that since the men used separate semen samples to fertilize the eggs, the twin babies can't be considered brothers. The gay couple could still register them as their own but it should be made separately. It was further explained that the babies are also not considered brothers even if they share the same biologic mother as she donated both the eggs to be fertilized.
According to the New York Times, Italy has some of the strictest reproductive laws as surrogacy could only be availed by straight couples who are married or those who could prove that they are in a stable relationship. They also must use their own eggs and sperm.
As for same-sex couples, marriage or adoption is still not available to them even if a civil partnership was introduced last year. In relation to the case, a stepchild adoption is also limited to straight couples so the gay couple cannot do anything about the ruling and cannot make the twin babies brothers.
Meanwhile, the gay couple has not been identified by any media outlet to protect their privacy. The babies' names have not been revealed as well.
