Italy: Religion-Based Fertility Laws Frustrate Citizens

If you are curious what America might be like if Roman Catholic officials have their way and are able to get health and fertility laws rewritten in accordance with Catholic doctrine, you merely need to look over at Italy. There the laws have been changed to better fit Catholicism and the people are getting more and more upset over it.

The BBC explains:

Italy now gives embryos the same rights as citizens. This means no screening or freezing of pre-implanted embryos; no sperm or egg donation; no surrogacy or embryo research. Critics say the law is medieval and damaging to women.

"I'm so upset and frustrated about this law as it limits my chances to have a child," says 34-year-old Francesca Muratori, lying in a darkened room at the Milan clinic. ... "I actually produced 14 healthy eggs," she explains. "Normally, in another country you could fertilise them all, and find out which are healthiest, but now with this law I just have to take the first three."

Because no embryos can be frozen, Francesca will face the whole procedure again soon if she does not become pregnant. "Undergoing ovarian stimulation and the pick up of eggs is very painful," she says, trying not to lift her head from the pillow. "It's a process which affects your health and increases risks from side affects. And as you can imagine, the emotional side of this is also very tough."

For couples who want their embryos screened, or who want donor treatments now banned in Italy, there is only one option. It is called fertility tourism, and is easier for the rich than the poor.

Italy’s laws aren’t just obnoxious, they are also profoundly stupid. Consider the case of the above woman: because embryos can’t be frozen, the nine that weren’t implanted with simply die. If she needs another treatment, she’ll have to go through it all over again — more pain, more cost, and of course more lost embryos. Had she been allowed to freeze the other nine, future treatments could use them. How can anyone regard that as an acceptable situation when operating under the premise that embryos have rights? At least frozen embryos have a chance.

As stupid as all this is, Americans shouldn’t be complacent. Like I noted above, this is the direction that Roman Catholic leaders would like all countries to move in. When bishops talk about denying communion to politicians who don’t obey the Vatican, these sorts of issues will be included eventually, if they aren’t already.

Read More:

• Roman Catholicism
• Roman Catholicism News
• Popes and the Papacy
• Bioethics