Italy introduced legislation in 2004 governing assisted reproduction. Before then, the legislative vacuum that existed in Italy had de facto rendered all scientific techniques lawful. That vacuum has now been filled by a controversial and retrogressive law, which permits access to assisted reproduction within very narrow confines. Access is limited to stable heterosexual couples of a fertile age who may use only their own, and not donor, gametes. The woman is under an obligation to have all created embryos, healthy or diseased, implanted.
This publication is an illustrative text which has been produced to assist the reader. It shows the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008.
These explanatory notes relate to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 which received Royal Assent on 13 November 2008. They have been prepared by the Department of Health in order to assist the reader of the Act. They do not form part of the Act and have not been endorsed by Parliament.