I’m a proud queer mum – here’s why I’m horrified by Italy’s laws against LGBT+ families

It’s hideous and heartbreaking to see rights being stripped from non-biological parents, writes Jodie Lancet-Grant — and a stark warning of how quickly lives can be upturned by bigotry

This Italian law is part of a worrying global trend across the world toward anti-LGBT+ legislation (LaPresse)

As a proud queer mum and children’s author specialising in books featuring same sex parents, I have watched with mounting horror the crackdown on LGBTQ+ family rights taking place in Italy.

This week, Italian authorities announced that the non-biological mother’s name will be retroactively removed from her children’s birth certificates, and she will, in effect, be stripped of the status of parent. The move and its implications are hideous and heart-breaking.

If the non-biological mother wants to take her children out of the country on holiday, she now may need a letter from her partner providing permission. If the biological mother were to pass away, their children risk being placed in state care, rather than be looked after by a parent who has loved and cared for them their entire lives. Despite having been a loving parent since birth, she is now deemed unfit to look after her own child.