Former Italian President Giorgio
Napolitano said on Thursday he hoped that Catholic and secular
groupings within the Italian parliament could find some middle
ground as debate on a controversial bill on civil unions reaches
its final stage in the Senate.
"I hope a convergence of the different positions is
possible, by focusing efforts on the merits of the law,"
Napolitano said.
A conference of Senate whips on Wednesday postponed voting
on the government's civil unions bill to next Tuesday. The bill,
which would extend to gay couples many of the rights and
protections heterosexual spouses enjoy, has met opposition from
a range of parliamentary groupings.
The so-called stepchild adoption provision is the most
controversial part of the bill. Opponents, including some
Catholic members of the Premier Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party
(PD), fear it will encourage gay couples to seek to have
children with surrogate mothers abroad - a practice that is
illegal in Italy.
PD Senator Laura Cantini said on Thursday that the party
was focused on approving the law as soon as possible and would
seek compromise up to the last minute.
Meanwhile Gaetano Quagliariello from the Movimento Idea
party said 51 Senators had filed a complaint to the
constitutional court over procedures followed for the civil
unions bill.
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