A referendum organized in Italy on assisted reproduction and stem cells research
In 2004, the "legge 40" or "Act n° 40" was passed by the Italian parliament to juggle the growing disorder born from the absence of legislation in Italy on assisted reproduction.
A campaign mounted by the Italian radicals of Marco Panella led then to the organization by popular initiative of a referendum to abrogate that "Act n° 40". (Italy foresees a system of legislation by referendum provided a certain number of persons sign up asking for legal modification). You may read an interview of Marco Panella on the site of the radical party, over here: http://coranet.radicalparty.org/pressreview/print_right.php?func=detail&par=12810
The referedum seeks to end the interdiction of experimenting on human embryos, the interdition of selection prior to implantation, and the limit on the number of embryos which could be implanted. The referendum also seeks to eliminate the interdiction of heterologous fertilization (i.e. fertilization of embryos with gametes from donors exterior to the couple seeking assisted reproduction). The referendum is submitted to a double condition to be effective: firstly, it should have a quorum of the majority of the persons inscribed on electoral lists; secondly it should have a majority of the voters voting "yes".
In this context, heated debates have started in Italy over whether observing Catholics should vote "yes", should vote "no" or should abstain. It was the latter option that Cardinal Ruini, the Chair of the Conference of Italian Bishops chose. He called Italians to abstain from voting at the referendum.
The calculation is simple: while there is always a number of persons in Italy who would not be going to vote, it would be harder for observing catholics to go to vote "no", rather than abstain. So the goal of not letting the referendum get the required quorum is easier to reach than a "no" vote. The national sport among Italian catholics is now of knowing who is going to take what position as regards abstention. Most Catholics of influence have however progressively announced that they were going to abstain.
You may want to visit the blog of Sandro Magister, a known specialist of Church affairs on L'espresso to follow the question as it developed the last months. You may find the blog here: http://blog.espressonline.it/weblog/stories.php?topic=03/04/09/3080386
For additional information on this question read this article on a Catholic site: http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=1720
A campaign mounted by the Italian radicals of Marco Panella led then to the organization by popular initiative of a referendum to abrogate that "Act n° 40". (Italy foresees a system of legislation by referendum provided a certain number of persons sign up asking for legal modification). You may read an interview of Marco Panella on the site of the radical party, over here: http://coranet.radicalparty.org/pressreview/print_right.php?func=detail&par=12810
The referedum seeks to end the interdiction of experimenting on human embryos, the interdition of selection prior to implantation, and the limit on the number of embryos which could be implanted. The referendum also seeks to eliminate the interdiction of heterologous fertilization (i.e. fertilization of embryos with gametes from donors exterior to the couple seeking assisted reproduction). The referendum is submitted to a double condition to be effective: firstly, it should have a quorum of the majority of the persons inscribed on electoral lists; secondly it should have a majority of the voters voting "yes".
In this context, heated debates have started in Italy over whether observing Catholics should vote "yes", should vote "no" or should abstain. It was the latter option that Cardinal Ruini, the Chair of the Conference of Italian Bishops chose. He called Italians to abstain from voting at the referendum.
The calculation is simple: while there is always a number of persons in Italy who would not be going to vote, it would be harder for observing catholics to go to vote "no", rather than abstain. So the goal of not letting the referendum get the required quorum is easier to reach than a "no" vote. The national sport among Italian catholics is now of knowing who is going to take what position as regards abstention. Most Catholics of influence have however progressively announced that they were going to abstain.
You may want to visit the blog of Sandro Magister, a known specialist of Church affairs on L'espresso to follow the question as it developed the last months. You may find the blog here: http://blog.espressonline.it/weblog/stories.php?topic=03/04/09/3080386
For additional information on this question read this article on a Catholic site: http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=1720
posted by dawnofeurope | 4:40 pm
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