Il punto di non ritorno. La revocabilità del consenso all’impianto degli ovuli fecondati

Abstract

The essay investigates the scope and the extent of protection of the right to withdraw from the in vitro fertilization procedure before the fertilized frozen egg’s implantation. The Italian Constitutional Court has recently grappled with the issue, holding that it would not be unreasonable to constrain the man’s right to decide not to become a parent in the event of marital separation or divorce if the woman wants to continue the procedure. That, in consideration of the strict legal framework of the Italian legislation governing access to IVF, the physical and psychological impact of the treatments on the woman’s health, and the respect due to dignity of the cryopreserved embryos. The author will shed light on the incoherences underlining the court’s reasoning, confronting it with other foreign cases dealing with the same debated question by adopting (even in favour of the woman) a different and more consistent balancing of the interests at stake.