Lesbian mothers win legal status in Italy IVF ruling

ROME (Reuters) -Italy's Constitutional Court said on Thursday that same-sex female couples who use in vitro fertilization (IVF) abroad can both be legally recognised as parents in Italy, even if one is not the biological mother.

The ruling is likely to be welcomed by Italian LGBT groups who have repeatedly clashed with the conservative government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a self-declared enemy of what she and her allies call the "LGBT lobby".

The court found that denying legal recognition to the non-biological mother violates the constitutional principles of equality and personal identity and violates the child's rights to care, education and emotional continuity from both parents.

The decision strikes down part of a 2004 law which did not allow both women in a same-sex couple to be registered as legal mothers, even if both consented to the procedure.

Marilena Grassadonia, an LGBT rights activist from the Italian Left opposition party, said the ruling marked a "historic day" which "restores dignity and serenity to the many rainbow families who live in our country".

The case was brought by a court in the Tuscan city of Lucca, which questioned the legality of denying "full dual parenthood" in a case involving a lesbian couple.

The judges noted that confusion over the law had led to inconsistent rulings in various courts. This has left individual mayors, who control the civil registry in their municipalities, to make differing decisions in comparable cases.

In some cases both mothers were listed on the child's birth certificate; in others, the non-biological mother was excluded.

"These divergent outcomes reflect a shifting social reality to which the legislature has yet to respond," the referral said.

The ruling did not alter Italy's current restrictions on access to IVF, which is still limited to heterosexual couples, but marked a shift towards the recognition of LGBTQ parenting rights.

In a separate verdict also released on Thursday, the Constitutional Court said rules preventing single women from accessing IVF were not unconstitutional, but said they could be changed if a political will for it emerged in parliament.

(Editing by Crispian Balmer and Alvise Armellini; Editing by Andrew Heavens)