According to the court's decision on Thursday, parenthood should not be restricted to only the biological mother when same-sex couples use in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The ruling comes after only the biological parent has been registered on birth certificates in recent years in certain areas of Italy. The partner has been forced to adopt the children to be legally recognized as guardians.
The Constitutional Court believes that this is discriminatory, "not in the child's interest" and contrary to the constitution.
This is a historic decision, says lawyer Michele Giarratano, who represents 15 children in Padua in northern Italy, where the authorities have been urged to retroactively remove non-biological parents from birth certificates.
The leader of the social democratic opposition party PD, Elly Schlein, praises the ruling as a "heavy political defeat" for the government that has "used rainbow families as political targets.
The decision does not address the legality of IVF, which is strongly restricted in Italy, while surrogacy is prohibited.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who leads the far-right party Brothers of Italy, has since taking office in October 2022, advocated for "traditional family values". The government has, among other things, extended the surrogacy ban to also apply to Italians who travel abroad to have children.
