Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is advocating for a more stringent ban on surrogacy, a practice already outlawed in Italy for over 20 years. At a recent conference in Rome, Meloni described surrogacy as "uterus renting," criticizing it as inhumane and expressing her support for a law that would criminalize engaging in surrogacy abroad by Italians. This proposed law has already cleared the lower house of Parliament.

Meloni's stance aligns with the Vatican's position, which condemns surrogacy as undermining the dignity of both women and children, treating them as commodities rather than respecting their fundamental human dignity. The Vatican’s recent statements emphasize that surrogacy reduces women to mere instruments for others' desires, conflicting with basic human rights principles.

The situation in the United States contrasts sharply with Italy and much of Europe. In the U.S., surrogacy, both paid and unpaid, is generally permitted, with only Nebraska and Louisiana specifically banning paid surrogacy. Recent developments include Michigan's reversal of a long-standing ban on paid surrogacy, further highlighting the U.S.'s more permissive approach to surrogacy compared to European nations like Italy, Spain, Germany, and France, where surrogacy is completely illegal. In contrast, some European countries like the U.K., Portugal, and the Netherlands permit unpaid surrogacy under certain conditions, but paid surrogacy remains banned. Only a few places in Europe, such as Ukraine and Russia, allow paid surrogacy, reflecting a diverse range of regulations across the continent.