Frozen embryos, frozen law. Brevi notazioni, in chiave comparatistica, su una recente decisione in tema di procreazione medicalmente assistita

Abstract

The essay deals with the effects of the withdrawal of the consent to use stored embryos the creation of which was brought about in vitro, once the two partners have broken up and only the woman wants to receive medical assistance to carry a child. The analysis focuses on two opposite Italian judicial decisions, which are compared to an English one. This broader perspective on the subject provides for two diverging possible solutions, each based not on a formally different legislative framework, but a different balance between the values of life, dignity, personal autonomy and health underlying – both in civil law and common law – the medically assisted procreation (MAP).