A decision by the Italian Constitutional Court last week has provoked debate in Italy about the restrictive law on assisted reproduction, which was approved in 2004. The law limits in vitro fertilisation procedures to sterile couples and bans pre-implantation diagnosis and embryo freezing except in exceptional circumstances. It also bans doctors from discarding any embryos produced by in vitro fertilisation (BMJ 2004;328: 9, BMJ 2004;328: 1334, and BMJ 2005;330: 1405).

The court turned down an appeal from a couple who were having in vitro fertilisation and who were at high risk of having a child with …