Italy has passed a law banning its citizens from travelling overseas to engage surrogates to have families.
The laws brough in by the right-wing Meloni government have been seen as targeting LGBTIQA+ couples who can access IVF or adoption in the country.
Those found guilty of engaging in surrogacy overseas could face two years in prison and fines of up to AUD $1.6 million.
The bill was passed on Wednesday 84 votes to 58 in the country’s senate.
Meloni has previously spoken about her belief that children should only be raised by opposite sex parents. In a 2022 speech she was quoted as saying ““yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby”.