Two Italian citizens have been
arrested at the airport of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they
were scheduled to take a flight back to Italy with a baby born
via surrogacy, according to local press reports.
La Nacion reported the story on Wednesday, without identifying
the two men who, after their arrest on Friday, admitted that the
baby girl had been carried by a woman from the city of Rosario.
The baby, who was born on October 10 at a clinic in the
Argentine capital, would then have been raised by the couple in
Italy, the newspaper reported.
"This is a very difficult case", a local official working on the
case was quoted as saying, adding that "the issue is not
regulated" in Argentina.
The local newspaper said investigators are not focusing on the
Italian couple, who have been ordered not to leave the country,
nor the woman who gave birth to the girl, but an organization
allegedly exploiting women in need and people want a child via
surrogacy.
Since October 16, surrogacy has become a "universal crime" in
Italy, even if it takes place in countries where it is legal,
with Italian couples, including the two men held in Argentina,
risking up to two years in jail and fines of between 600,000 and
one million euros.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
