Parliament must pass a
law on civil unions "because Italians expect it", Senate Speaker
Laura Boldrini said Thursday.
"If our aim is to move ever closer to Italian citizens we
mustn't disappoint them," Boldrini continued, adding that she
hoped the law would be passed "as soon as possible".
Her comments came amid heated debate within Premier Matteo
Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) and between the PD and centrist
allies over a provision in the bill introducing stepchild
adoption, or the adoption of the biological child of one partner
in a civil union by the other.
Conservative Catholics contest this measure on grounds it
could pave the way for surrogacy, which is presently outlawed in
Italy.
The issue is proving a major obstacle to the passage of the
law granting legal rights to gay and lesbian couples, which is
due to hit the Senate floor later this month.
"The law on civil unions must be passed: it is an element
of civility," said Infrastructure Minister Graziano Delrio.
"I believe that parliament will manage to find the right
balance and keep the different sensibilities in mind," he
continued.
"It is right that there should be a discussion on important
issues concerning the culture and conscience of every lawmaker:
I am very confident," Delrio concluded.
Paola Binetti of Area Popolare (AP), a caucus grouping the
centrist New Centre Right (NCD) - a minor partner in the Renzi
government - and the Union of Christian Democrats, took a
different stance.
"Our 'no' to the civil unions bill as it is today is
obvious and predictable, to the point that one asks whether this
isn't a manoeuvre designed to corner AP and force it to take
drastic decisions, which would in fact thwart the entire Renzi
system of government," she said.
"Because from that moment on all moves to the centre would
be precluded and the only escape route would be the return to
alliances with the left," Binetti concluded.
Meanwhile AP senator and president of the Senate
environment committee Giuseppe Marianello said the group would
be prepared to call for a referendum on the law if it is
approved without modifications.
"A legal ban must be introduced on wombs for rent, making
the practice a crime, and all references leading to the
homogenisation of civil unions and marriage must be eliminated,"
he said.
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