* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The tangible fallout is all too real. LGBTQ+ youth are being victimised, their realities denied, and their futures compromisedBy Krystof Stupka, a member of the Czech Government's Committee on LGBTQ+ Rights.
In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is single-handedly overseeing a dismantling of recent gains for LGBTQ+ rights, all under the veil of “protecting the family” and “defending God”. But let's get real here. The people who will get hurt the most here are queer children and the children of queer families. And there is nothing godly about that.
In one of her first acts since being elected last year, Meloni set her sights on same-sex parents. Her government's decision to halt the registration of children born to same-sex couples is nothing short of a vendetta against the LGBTQ+ community.
Doing her bidding is the Padua Prosecutor's Office, challenging the legitimacy of 33 birth certificates for children born to female couples.
Alessandro Zan from the Democratic Party aptly put it, these children are being rendered orphans by decree.
Further tightening the noose, the government has also set its sights on couples who turn to surrogacy abroad. Before the elections, a deputy from Meloni’s party, Brothers of Italy, called surrogacy "worse than pedophilia". At the time, it was widely ridiculed. But with each passing day under Meloni, it seems more and more like Italy's new reality.
And as if to hammer this home, the Italian senate is now set to approve a law that would classify surrogacy – even when sought legally abroad – as a “universal” crime. Putting it on the same pedestal as, you guessed it, paedophilia, or human trafficking and criminalising couples who, out of love and lack of choice for other options to start a family, seek surrogacy options abroad.
And there’s more. The proposal by Meloni’s coalition partner to alter the main state TV broadcasting contract, ensuring a mandated portrayal of the "natural family" as defined by Article 29 of the Italian Constitution, is deeply concerning.
Meloni’s recent speech at the Demographic Summit in Budapest orchestrated by Viktor Orbán should further serve as evidence of her ambitions. By aligning herself with Orbán, concerns are growing that Meloni might also look at introducing a similar law to Hungary's 2021 "anti-LGBT propaganda law”, which banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality or gender identity to children. We are witnessing the rise of another Orbán in Meloni, only this time, no bells seem to be ringing in Brussels.
The tangible fallout is all too real. LGBTQ+ youth are being victimised, their realities denied, and their futures compromised. The recent harrowing story of a father in southern Italy wanting to kill his son for coming out as gay is utterly horrific – and we have to worry about whether it won’t just be a one-off event.
Queer Italians deserve more. They deserve a country where their rights are recognised, where their families are acknowledged and where their futures are protected. This isn't about politics anymore; it's about humanity, love, and the right to live without fear.
European institutions need to do more. The European Commission must do better to ensure that queer youth across the EU get a better tomorrow.
