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‘Let infertile couple use donors’: Italian court

A court in Bologna has granted a couple the right to use donors in fertility treatment immediately, four years since they launched their legal battle to have a family, their lawyer told The Local.

Published: 19 August 2014 12:41 CEST

'Let infertile couple use donors': Italian court

Couple elsewhere in Italy have already becoming pregnant through sperm or egg donors. Baby photo: Shutterstock

The Bologna court said the couple should immediately be given access to the fertility treatment, ending a legal battle which has lasted four years.

The couple first went to court in 2010 after being denied the use of a donor, despite the European Court of Human Rights saying the ban was illegitimate, Filomena Gallo from their legal team told The Local.

A breakthrough in their case came on April 9th, when Italy’s Constitutional Court ordered the nationwide ban be lifted as it went against people’s right to a family life. Although the decision stopped court proceedings in Bologna, as the couple can now legally access donors, the legal team went back to make an additional request.

“We had a follow-up audience after the ban was lifted and asked Judge Costanza if the court could order that the couple receive immediately treatment, as they have waited since 2010 and must not go on the waiting list,” Gallo said.

They request was granted and the couple is now allowed the go ahead with treatment “immediately”, while hundreds of other couples have joined lengthy waiting lists in recent months.

Gallo said the couple is “happy about the great news” and plan to get in touch with the fertility clinic once they return from holiday.

Responding to the ruling, local councillor Carlo Lusenti said he had urged the health commission from the Conference of the Regions to take action, to draw up guidelines for how the treatment should be managed. The commission is due to draw up new norms by September 1st, Lusenti told La Repubblica.

Some Italians couples have already been able to access egg and sperm donors. Just weeks after the ban was lifted, three couples in Rome announced they were pregnant.

READ MORE: First Italian pregnant after egg donor ban lift

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Testing times: Pregnancy in the time of coronavirus

A pregnant woman wearing a face mask as a precautionary measure walks past a street mural in Hong Kong, Photo: AFP

With all but food shops shuttered for the past three weeks as Spain seeks to curb the spread of the virus that has claimed over 13,000 lives, this 36-year-old says she has no choice or they'll have no money.

But what really freaks her out is the thought of going for her 20-week scan at a hospital overwhelmed with coronavirus cases.

“They said the 20-week scan is very, very important and it's my first pregnancy, but I don't want to put myself at risk,” she told AFP.

“What if I go with my husband and the police stop us? Not only are you taking up the time of a policeman who should be dealing with the outbreak, but you don't know whether he himself is infected,” she said.

In Spain, police are quick to fine anyone violating the terms of the lockdown under which people can only leave home for food, medicine or a medical emergency.

READ MORE:

For expectant mothers across the world, the deadly pandemic has caused a huge spike in stress and anxiety, compounded by a multi-national lockdown that has played havoc with birth plans and raised countless questions few can answer.

“It shouldn't be be scary to go and have a scan done, it should be exciting,” says Sophie Hales, a first-time mum who just had her 20-week scan at a hospital in Luton near London.

Even though British hospitals are not yet under the same pressure as those in Spain, the atmosphere at the ultrasound clinic was tense, the experience “daunting”.

“Going on your own, especially to a place where you don't know if you're in a room with people that could be carriers of this virus and knowing full well you've got a little baby growing inside you — it's very, very unnerving,” said Hales, 25.

“For me, it would be very terrifying if I was to be confirmed positive because you want to be as strong, as healthy as you can when you're carrying a child.”

Nightmare turned reality

For Vanesa Muro it was a nightmare that came true just days before she was to give birth at a hospital in Madrid, Spain's worst-hit region where more than 5,000 have now died and hospitals are on the brink of collapse.

“It was really frightening thinking about whether I could have it passed on to my baby,” she said, describing how her husband rushed her to A&E but was not allowed to stay.

“They wanted the baby out as quickly as possible to see if he'd been infected so they decided to do it then and there,” she said.

Operated on by medics cocooned in protective suits, she gave birth alone to a healthy boy, with tests showing he was virus-free.

The World Health Organisation says there's no scientific evidence showing pregnant women face a higher risk of infection than others.

But is also says it is unknown whether a mother can pass COVID-19 to her baby, although so far they've found no trace of the virus in amniotic fluid or breast milk.

For these women, fear is a big factor, says midwife Maria Jesus Garcia Diaz, who works at a clinic in the Spanish capital.

“What worries them is how the virus will affect them, but most of all whether it will affect their baby,” she said.

“One of the most stressful things is uncertainty.. and uncertainty is difficult to alleviate.”

In labour alone?

For some, uncertainty about the new social distancing rules is particularly acute, with Lumière Nabab, a 29-year-old estate agent from Paris, worrying about going through labour alone.

“It's stressful, we don't understand much, it's all very vague,” she said. “One minute they say the father can be with you, the next they say he must be in the next room during the delivery.. In some hospitals, the fathers aren't allowed in at all,” she said.

“The first time you go into labour, it's the unknown — you need reassurance and not to be left all on your own.”

For Maria Rosa Marti, a 29-year-old radiologist from Barcelona who is expecting her second child this week, there are other concerns.

With colleagues on the frontline, she is very aware of the huge pressure on intensive care units, which have been stretched to breaking point.

“What worries most is if there is any complication when I'm in labour and they can't take me into intensive care,” she told AFP.

“For me, a delivery with complications is the worst thing that could happen.”

Managing emotions

With pre-natal classes cancelled, birth-plans ripped up and most checkups now handled by phone, it is the midwives who must help these women through this time of unprecedented upheaval.

“We're seeing a lot of decisions taken as a result of fear and that's not good,” says midwife Garcia Diaz, explaining it was crucial to maintain perspective.

“It is true that people are dying and sick.. but we can't deal with everything,” she said.

“Have a look at your situation and focus on what's around you.

“What's important is to look after yourself and not to worry. And only watch a little bit of news.”

By Hazel Ward

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