Homosexual families, a European study

The University of Trento is the lead partner. The project (€620,000) is funded by the EU.
TRENTO The association of the same name, also present in Trentino with four registered families, calls them "rainbow families." These are families composed of two same-sex parents, a reality that exists in Italy despite legislation prohibiting gay marriage, medically assisted procreation, and adoption. They can be formed, for example, through heterologous fertilization abroad, or much more simply through cohabitation with a same-sex partner by a father or mother who has had a child from a previous heterosexual relationship. All of these situations, and particularly the resulting legal implications, are the focus of the international research project "Rights on the Move," coordinated by the University of Trento and co-funded by the European Commission with €500,000. The study's goal is to produce a white paper with legislative recommendations for harmonizing regulations at the EU level, ensuring these families' mobility within the Union. "Rights on the Move - Rainbow Families in Europe," launched on January 1st this year, will culminate in October 2014 with the closing international conference attended by 200 people. The launch symposium is scheduled for mid-March 2013. This is the first research project of this scale at the European level. Total funding amounts to €620,000. The list of participating institutions is long: in addition to the University of Trento, the lead partner, there are the University of Toulouse "P. Sabadier," the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and the Peace Institute of Ljubljana. Partners also include the CGIL Ufficio Nuovi Diritti (Italian General Confederation of New Rights), based in Rome, and CaraFriend (Belfast). The project "aims to protect the rights of families, focusing on rainbow families, who move from one country to another within the European Union," explains Alexander Schuster, a researcher in Law (Trento), coordinator and creator of the project. "The rights of minors in particular can be violated in a number of cases, depending on the different laws of different countries," explains the 35-year-old jurist, a German-Italian national with extensive research experience abroad. He is currently assisting Arcigay and Arcilesbica in promoting the popular law against homophobia in Trentino. The study involves three phases. The first focuses on how rainbow families are formed: the possibilities vary depending on the laws of the various countries. "These families," Schuster continues, "can be born through assisted reproduction, primarily heterologous fertilization (used by homosexual women), which is permitted in Belgium, Spain, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Norway." In Italy, it is prohibited by Law 40, opposed by left-wing associations and parties but supported by Catholics. Then there is the issue of adoption, the subject of strong controversy in Italy. It is permitted in Spain, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Iceland, and only in certain cases in Finland, Germany, and Slovenia. There is talk of joint adoption by same-sex couples or the adoption of one partner's biological child by the other partner. The final option is "surrogacy," commonly known as surrogate motherhood (but without financial compensation), which is permitted in some US states, Canada, South Africa, and Brazil. Regarding same-sex marriage, it is possible in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In France, civil unions are in effect. The second phase of the project addresses the daily life of parents and their children. "Co-parents, including same-sex partners of parents with children from previous heterosexual relationships, do not have parental authority in Italy. They require their partner's authorization for school hearings and medical visits. They cannot make decisions about treatment or take time off work if the child is ill." The third phase is the family crisis, due to the death of a parent or separation. "If the child is not the biological parent, in Italy they have no rights to inheritance. As for separations, our goal is to explore the issues surrounding custody before the cases reach Italian courts." There have already been some leading cases, Schuster points out. The Milan Juvenile Court, in a 2007 ruling, ruled that shared custody was not applicable to the unrecognized mother, but it also indicated a path to protect the emotional bond between her and the child. The final outcome will be a white paper to standardize European legislation. The legislative proposals will put the protection of minors at the center: "Legislative gaps mean that children from rainbow families have fewer rights than their peers from other families," Schuster concludes. "This is precisely what we want to address." Stefano Voltolini