Roma Pride said today it will not apologise to Lazio Governor Francesco Rocca for allegedly twisting the agenda for Saturday’s event to lobby in favour of surrogacy. Rocca said an apology would bring the reinstatement of the region’s sponsorship.
Roma Pride‘s spokesman told ANSA its platform has been known for years for its favourable stance on surrogacy. Illegal in Italy, surrogacy is used by many Italian same-sex couples outside Italy. Italy’s right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, of which Rocca is a member, wants to make it a ‘universal crime’. That would mean Italians resorting to surrogacy abroad will be prosecuted in Italy.
Rocca had earlier accused organisers of “instrumentalising” the popular event to promote surrogacy. The right-wing calls surrogacy “wombs for rent”, but the governor said an apology for this stance would help the event regain Lazio’s sponsorship.
Recently, contemporary pop artist aleXsandro Palombo created a mural in Milan showing the political views towards surrogacy. He showed Schlein and Meloni naked and pregnant with their stances stamped on their bellies.
Roma Pride not apologising
Mario Colamarino, president of the Mario Mieli gay association and spokesperson for Roma Pride, told ANSA: “Clearly there will be no apology for Rocca’s claims by Roma Pride. No one manipulated anyone”.
“We only made a formal request to the Lazio region and they responded by granting free patronage. There were no prior talks.
Perhaps they should have understood and known what our requests were – which have been the same for years – before granting the patronage”.
