The government in Italy has abolished the right of same-sex parents to be recognized as the parents of their children. It had not been recognized nationally, but local councils had implemented their own schemes in areas with more liberal and progressive administrations. The Minister of the Interior, Lega party leader Matteo Piantedosi – broadly equivalent to the role of Home Secretary – has written to such councils ordering them to desist. In day-to-day life, the decision has no impact but in all life’s crises – the death of a parent for example – it is a ruling that denies children the chance to stay with their own loving family, instead presses them into state care.
