European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Embargo: 13:00 hrs (CEST) Monday 28 June 2010
NB: this is the subject of a news briefing by Filomena Gallo at 13.00hrs (CEST) on Monday 28 June [Hall 10, Room A]

Italian judges move to protect couples’ rights

Rome, Italy: In 2004 the Italian Parliament limited the use of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) by introducing a very restrictive law which established a number of ethical prohibitions without any scientific or legal base, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard today (Monday).

Filomena Gallo, an Italian lawyer and chairwoman of the patients’ association Amica Cicogna ONLUS, has been assisting Italian couples seeking ART treatment for several years. “The most controversial part of the Law was that it gave equal rights to mother, father and embryo and thus set a limit of three generated embryos, all of which had to be transferred in the first treatment cycle,“ Filomena Gallo said.

In 2010, Ms. Filomena Gallo finally obtained from the Court of Salerno the acknowledgment that it is a fundamental right of couples to make their own reproductive choices. The new ruling also means that now couples affected by genetic diseases can make use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to ensure the birth of a healthy child.

“The 1st of April 2010 marked another significant milestone, with the European Court of Human Rights acknowledging that the restrictions in certain areas of ART, such as the use of donated gametes and embryos under the Artificial Procreation Act in Austria, were not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights,” said Ms. Gallo. The judges in Strasbourg, while recognizing the independence of each member state, specified that discriminatory treatments should be avoided in order to respect the European Convention on Human Rights. Therefore, infertile patients requiring donated gametes or embryos should not be treated differently from other patients who use their own.

Italian judges started to raise doubts about the constitutionality of the law in 2008. In 2009, the Constitutional Court declared some of the restrictions to be unconstitutional: the limit on the number of embryos (three) to be fertilized and transferred was outlawed, exceptions to the freezing prohibition were made and the independence and responsibility of the doctors, to make treatment choices according to the patients’ need, were ensured.

The most visible effects of the law were a reduction in births, an increase of risk pregnancies and multiple pregnancies affecting the health of women and their future children. The law basically led to exactly those risks it originally intended to avoid. “It was affecting not only the constitutional rights of couples seeking ART, but it was also damaging their health,” explained Ms. Gallo.

“Today still many infertile couples seek ART treatments abroad in order to have access to gametes or treatment that they cannot receive in Italy. But this if often accompanied by certain risks, since the costs are usually much higher and patients often do not receive adequate information,“ explained Filomena Gallo, referring to one example where a couple travelled to Cyprus for treatment and after spending more than EUR 6,000 still have no information on the whereabouts of their embryos.

“According to the Italian Constitution, the Strasbourg ruling has direct implications on our regulations, since Italy has signed the European Convention on Human Rights”, said Ms. Gallo. “So we believe that soon the article that prohibits the use of donated gametes and embryos will be outlawed as well.”
 

Italian version (pdf)

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