Rome's tribunal for minors has
recognised a lesbian couple's adoption of each other's
biological daughters, two gay rights associations announced
Tuesday, adding that it was a first for Italy.
The court upheld two appeals from lawyer Francesca Quarato,
a founding member of the Rete Lenford (Lenford Network) gay
rights group, representing the Famiglie Arcobaleno (Rainbow
Families) association of gay parents and their children.
The court based itself on current legislation on "adoptions
in special cases", which means the children - two girls aged
four and eight - will have the same double-barrelled surname but
will not be legally considered sisters.
Quarato explained that the special cases adoption law
"confers lesser guarantees to the minor when compared to the
recognition of full, legitimate parenthood" such as the children
of heterosexual married couples currently enjoy.
However, the ruling does proved both children with more
protection than they would otherwise have had, she said.
"In this way, each (of the minors) has a biological parent
and a social parent, both of them with full and equal parenting
capacities and responsibilities," Quarato explained.
Rete Lenford President Maria Grazia Sangalli and Rainbow
Families President Marilena Grassadonia hailed the ruling.
"This is the only recourse same-sex couples have in order
to legally adopt their partners' children, in the absence of a
law on the matter," said Sangalli.
The Senate last week passed a civil unions bill recognizing
gay couples and extending to them some of the same rights and
privileges straight couples enjoy - minus a measure on the
couples' rights to adopt each other's children, which was
dropped on the demand of Catholic conservatives.
The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) on Tuesday
called for a referendum on gay adoptions while Interior Minister
Angelino Alfano, leader of the junior government partner New
Centre Right (NCD) reaffirmed his opposition to "every kind of
adoption" by same-sex couples, announcing a new proposal to make
surrogate motherhood a universal crime. The rightwing
anti-immigrant Northern League called on Lower House Speaker
Laura Boldrini to "intervene immediately - a court can't decide
(on these matters)" and the small rightwing Brothers of Italy
(FdI) party said civil unions laws are just "a Trojan horse to
allow the courts to decide... instead of politics".
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