Single Woman Appeals to Top Court in Fight for ART

Florence: The Constitutional Court is set to rule on the case of a 40-year-old single woman who appealed to a court of first instance in Florence after she was denied access to a medically assisted fertility treatment at a centre in Tuscany.

According to Ansa News Agency, the Constitutional Court will issue a sentence in the next few days following a hearing held on Tuesday. The hearing aims to determine the constitutionality of article 5 of Italy’s law 40 on assisted reproductive technology, which currently grants exclusive access to fertility treatments to married or cohabiting heterosexual couples.

The issue was brought to the forefront by the tribunal of Florence after the single woman, identified only as Evita, filed an appeal to gain access to the treatment. Additional plaintiffs in the Florence trial include another single woman seeking access to assisted-fertility treatment and the Luca Coscioni civil rights association.

“Changing the law would be a necessary step to guarantee equal rights to women who try to become mothers,” stated Filomena Gallo, the attorney representing the two women and the Luca Coscioni association. Gallo urged the Constitutional Court to declare the law unconstitutional during the Tuesday hearing.

The attorney general, however, expressed on Tuesday that it considered the appeal unfounded. The Constitutional Court has a history of striking down parts of the controversial law that limits assisted-fertility treatments, initially approved in 2004.

In a notable instance in 2014, the Court lifted a ban on the use of donor sperm and eggs. A year later, it allowed couples with genetically inherited disorders to access assisted-fertility treatments. The law, originally passed by a cross-party alliance of Catholics, currently prohibits single parents, same-sex couples, and women beyond child-bearing age from utilizing assisted-fertility techniques.