PAPER CHASE NEWSBURSTDigest RSS feedFull RSS feed
Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective.


Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Pope supports boycott of Italian fertility referendum
Krista-Ann Staley at 11:37 AM ET

[JURIST] Pope Benedict XVI [official website] stepped into an ongoing political fray Monday by backing calls for Italian voters to abstain from a June referendum on embryo research, artificial insemination, and egg and sperm donation. At issue in the referendum is Law No. 40, passed in 2004, which bans embryo research and restricts the number of eggs that can be fertilized during each attempt at fertilization. The law also prohibits freezing or screening of frozen embryos and the use of sperm or ova from a man or woman other than the couple undergoing the procedure, or from a deceased spouse. To overturn the law, the referendum must have a 50% voter turnout, with a majority of voters opposing the current rules. Catholic Cardinal Camillo Ruini [Wikipedia profile] has led the fight to maintain the law as-is and had previously called the country's faithful to refrain from voting. Opponents of the law gathered almost four million signatures to force the referendum [JURIST report]. Daniele Capezzone [Wikipedia entry], head of Italy's Radical Party [homepage in Italian] and campaigning for a "Yes" vote, called the Pope's intervention "an unprecedented offensive" by the Vatican. BBC News and IPS have more.



Link | |  | print | subscribe | RSS feeds | latest newscast | Facebook page

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...


LATEST LEGAL NEWS

 FBI charges 14 more in Galleon Group insider trading scandal
1:23 PM ET, November 7

 Taiwan high court rules prostitution law unconstitutional
1:16 PM ET, November 7

 HRW claims Iran police sexually assaulted detainees held after election protests
12:42 PM ET, November 7

 click for more...

Get JURIST legal news on your intranet, website, blog or news reader!

LATEST FORUM

Beyond Guantanamo

Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham
US Army (ret.)

ABOUT

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

CONTACT

Paper Chase welcomes comments, tips and URLs from readers. E-mail us at JURIST@pitt.edu