title: The Italian Constitutional Court modifies Italian legislation on assisted reproduction technology.
abstract: On 8 May 2009, the Italian Constitutional Court declared, at least in part, that the law regulating assisted reproduction technology in Italy (Law 40/04) is unconstitutional. The most important theoretical point made by the Court is that the law does not provide unlimited protection to embryos, since it admits that some of them may not produce a viable fetus. Embryo protection is therefore limited by the imperative to ensure a concrete possibility to achieve a successful pregnancy. The Court also reaffirmed the need to empower the attending physician with the means to carry out a full evaluation. At present, the situation is not clear and, theoretically, requires a new intervention by Parliament. This, however, is unlikely.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. gbenagiano@libero.it
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Benagiano
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gianaroli
mesh_terms: D004624:Embryo Transfer; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D011247:Pregnancy; D019836:Preimplantation Diagnosis; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*