Italy's Constitutional Court has ruled to recognize same-sex female couples who have children using in vitro fertilization (IVF) as legally recognized parents, marking a historic change for LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
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The ruling impacts families like Glendale native, Denise Rinehart and her wife Giulia Garofalo Geymonat. They have been fighting for nearly a decade to be legally recognized as parents to their children.
"I feel amazing. I feel like really, really, really, really big relief," Giulia Garofalo Geymonat said.
For the past nine years, Rinehart was the only parent listed on their first-born son's birth certificate because she gave birth to him, while Garofalo Geymonat had no legal recognition as his parent.
"Italy had — and has — a big problem with accepting the rights in general of LGBT people and in particular families with kids," Garofalo Geymonat said.
The couple joined several LGBTQ+ activists abroad in their legal battle for what they consider a basic human right.
"We wanted to battle that in court," Garofalo Geymonat said.
Their determination never wavered throughout the lengthy legal process.
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"We were one of the cases which really went to court and battled for years and years and years and years," Garofalo Geymonat said.
The couple received support from lawyers in Madison and their family during their fight for recognition.
Watch: Glendale woman, wife help drive change for same-sex female parents in Italy
"We've had a lot of support also from lots of family and friends definitely in Wisconsin and in the US," Rinehart said.
After years of fighting, the couple moved to Bologna in 2020 to give birth to their second child.
"So our second child actually has two moms on the birth certificate and has two nationalities," Garofalo Geymonat said.
Even after the move, they continued their legal battle for their firstborn and other families in similar situations.
"There was no question of whether or not to stop," Rinehart said.
The mothers expressed pride in being part of this historic change in Italian law.
"It's important to — even when it's really tiring — to really resist and persevere," Garofalo Geymonat said.
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The couple emphasized that their work isn't finished. They want the entire LGBTQ+ community to be heard in Italy.
"It is a time in which we still need to fight and this is just a small piece. And we get the energy to continue," Garofalo Geymonat said.
For now, they're taking time to celebrate this significant victory with loved ones.
"I mean we've been celebrating for 24 hours now," Garofalo Geymonat said.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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