Aabortion

Abortion

78 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

78 pts

Abortion and contraception allow women to express their freedom of reproduction by exercising their right of self-determination over their bodies.


Measurement questions

Is abortion lawful to protect woman's life?

Yes

Is abortion lawful to protect woman's physical health?

Yes

Is abortion lawful to protect woman's mental health?

Yes

Is abortion lawful in the event the woman was raped?

Legal during 1st trimester only

Is abortion lawful in the event of fetal defects?

Yes

Does the law mandate that an abortion is performed at the mere request of a pregnant woman?

Legal during 1st trimester only

Is RU-486 (Mifepristone) approved or registered for use?

Yes and it is available with prescription

Are emergency contraception drugs lawfully available?

Yes, with prescription

Are family planning services provided through government-run programs and facilities?

Yes, but with substantial limitations

Is spousal notification/permission required?

No

Assisted reproduction

Assisted Reproduction

60 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

60 pts

Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are the methods used to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means. Access to assisted reproduction concerns our ability to expand our right to health by offering us access to treatment to overcome infertility.


Measurement questions

Is preimplantation genetic diagnosis permissible?

Yes with no restrictions

Is oocyte cryopreservation permissible?

Yes

Is embryo cryopreservation permissible for reproductive purposes?

No

Is sperm donation permissible?

Yes

Is oocyte donation permissible?

Yes

Are IVF surrogacy agreements enforceable?

No

Marital status requirements?

Stable relationship at minimum

Do same-sex couples have access to ART?

No

Do single women have access to ART?

No

Are there any limits on the number of pre-embryos that can be transferred?

No

End Off Life

End of life

40 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

40 pts

End of life decisions concern our ability to make choices concerning the end of our lives and take of the form of refusal of life sustaining treatment, being help in committing suicide, choosing euthanasia, and make choices that must be upheld even when the person becomes unconscious. As Young (2010) noted, "People have an interest in making important decisions about their lives in accordance with their own conception of how they want their lives to go."


Measurement questions

Is passive euthanasia lawful?

Yes

Is active euthanasia lawful?

Legally prohibited

Is physician-assisted suicide lawful?

Legally prohibited

Are advance directives (AD) enforceable?

Yes

Is a physician required to respect a patient's refusal of life-sustaining treatment?

Never

Research With Embryo

Research with embryos

53 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

53 pts

Research with embryos and pre-embryos as well as therapeutic cloning concerns scientists’ freedom to investigate human biology as well as patients’ freedom to access regenerative medicine treatments that may be developed as a result of research with human embryonic stem cells. Since the early 2000s, research with embryos has been at the center of an often-polarized debate about the nature and scope of scientific freedom.


Measurement questions

Is basic research using germline modification in human embryos/gametes permitted?

Only permitted on IVF embryos (if research benefits that embryo)

Is pre-clinical research using germline modification technologies in animals permitted?

Yes

Is clinical research using germline modification technologies in humans permitted?

No

Are clinical applications of research using germline modification technologies (i.e., to initiate a pregnancy with edited embryos or with edited gametes) permitted?

Yes

GM Crops

GM Crops

35 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

35 pts

GM crops have contributed significantly to modern agriculture. Plant breeding using genetic modification techniques has led to improving crops in more targeted ways than classical breeding techniques. GM crops acquire desirable characteristics, including pest and herbicide resistance, enhanced robustness against diseases, drought or water tolerance, and healthier profiles that can enhance nutrition.


Measurement questions

Is research on GMOs permitted in the laboratories?

Yes

Is notification to start research on GMOs in laboratories required?

Yes

Is research on GMOs frequent?

No

Are GM crop field trials (the limited release into the environment for research purposes) permitted?

No

Is authorization to start a GM crop field trial required?

Yes/prohibited

Are GM crop field trials frequent?

No/prohibited

Is cultivation of GM crops (for commercial purposes) in open field permitted?

No

Is authorization to start open field cultivation of GM crops required?

Yes/prohibited

Is open field cultivation of GM crops frequent?

No/prohibited

Can GM crop commodities harvested in other countries be imported?

Yes

Is authorization to import GM crop commodities required?

Yes/prohibited

Is the import of GM crop commoties frequent?

Yes

Right To Science Indicators

Right To Science Indicators


Measurement questions

- Access to benefits

What is the total general government expenditure on education?

What is the expenditure on tertiary as % of government expenditure on education?

19.59

What is the the percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed a doctoral degree or equivalent?

What is the percentage of population that uses the Internet?

61.32

What is the quality of math and science education on a scale from 1 to 7 being "excellent"?

4.6

To what extent is the Internet used in schools for learning purposes?

4.2

What is the scientific literacy of 15-year-old students as measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)(mean score)?

481

- Opportunities to participate

Does the law mandate nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring?

No

What is the percentage of females employed with advanced degrees out of total employed?

33.7

- Enabling environment

How many scientific and technical journal articles are published each year in physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, clinical medicine, biomedical research, engineering and technology, and earth and space sciences?

69125.2

What is the percentage of GDP allocated to Research and Development?

1.33

How may published articles have received at least H citations in the period 1996–2014?

68.9

What is the quality of scientific research institutions?

4.8

To what extent do business and universities collaborate on research and development (R&D)?

3.8

What is the average university ranking score of countries based on their top 3 universities?

46.3

To what extent are scientists and engineers available?

4.5

How many professionals are employed as researchers?

5.1

How many professionals are employed by government as researchers?

17

- International cooperation

To what extent are talented people attracted from abroad?

2.6

Recent News about Italy

Widow of Italian Right-To-Die Protagonist Turns Herself In

ROME — The widow of an Italian man who became a protagonist in Italy’s euthanasia debate turned herself into police on Friday after bringing another terminally ill man to Switzerland to die. Mina Welby told reporters outside the Tuscan police station that Davide Trentini had administered a fatal IV drip himself on Thursday in Switzerland

Italy Needs Abortion Doctors

ROME — If a woman wants to end her pregnancy in Italy, she has the legal right to do so under the public health system within the first 90 days, or first trimester, of the gestation. The law, known in Italy as Law 194, has been on the books for nearly 40 years, but it

European court strikes down challenge to embryo law.

 The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a case that would have overruled existing Italian law on the use of frozen embryos in research. The court ruled that Adelina Parillo, who with her partner Stefano Rolla, a film director, created five embryos in 2002, did not have a right to donate her embryos to

Advocating for choice in Europe

Jennie Bristow reports on the 2014 Congress of the International Federation of Professional Abortion and Contraceptive Associates (FIAPAC) in Ljubljana on 2-4 October 2-4, 2014. She provides an up-to-date overview of Abortion laws in Europe that shows that Ireland and Poland “are noticeable for being out of step with the European norm” and she discusses

Italy: Ministry of Health proposes draft legislation on gamete donation.

The Ministry of Health made public a draft of legislation aiming to regulate gamete donation. The draft embraces donor’s anonymity with some limitations. A donor can be re-contacted by the physician treating a couple and asked to share some medical information provided the donor gave informed consent to being re-contacted and access his/her medical record

Italy: Gamete donation, court says: “no regulatory gap after ban on gamete donation was found unconstitutional.”

The Court of Appeals in Bologna issues an order in an appeal filed by two couples who wanted to access gamete donation at a time it was prohibited under Italian law. In fact, the appeals had been filed before the ban on gamete donation was lifted by the Constitutional Court in April 2014. The Court

Italy: Custody battle over IVF mix-up babies.

Twin babies born this week in Italy are at the centre of an unprecedented custody battle after an apparent blunder at a fertility clinic in Rome. In Deecember 2013, four couples sought ART and, due to some mistake, two embryos wer implanted in a woman who was not the source of teh oocyte used in