The Legalisation of Gamete Donation in Italy

Since 2004, the regulation of assisted reproduction in Italy has undergone substantial reform as an effect of key judicial intervention. Limitations on embryo production, screening and transfer, the prohibition against engaging in preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and embryo selection, and the ban on gamete donation have all been removed by courts. In this article, I discuss how judicial intervention has improved the ability of Italian couples to access assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs), and how the expansion of reproductive rights is, however, still incomplete. In particular, I discuss the challenges in implementing the liberalisation of gamete donation, and identify the practical, political and cultural reasons for limited access to gamete donation. I also discuss the future of the prohibitions and restrictions that still exist in Law 40/2004.