On 10 February 2004, the Medically Assisted Reproduction Law came into effect in Italy. It bans just about every form of assisted reproduction and in effect gives the embryo the same rights as a fully developed human.
Frances Kennedy from the BBC Rome office spoke to Cristina Zuppa who has been undergoing fertility treatment using her frozen embryos. The new law will drastically reduce her chances of having a child.
For those who have been alarmed at radical research in this field, including the Catholic church, it is a triumph for the rights of the unborn child.
Martha looks at the implications of the new law with Senator Antonio Tomassini, Head of Italian Health Commission and member of the Italian centre-right coalition government, who supports the bill and Professor Arne Sunde, Chairman European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology .
