An Italian referendum on relaxing strict fertility laws has failed to reach the 50% turnout figure necessary for it to be valid.
Campaign posters in Italy say that abstaining is "a natural act"
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Interior ministry figures showed that about 24% of Italian voters cast their ballots in the two-day referendum.
Turnout is thought to have been affected by both a call
for abstention made by the Catholic Church - backed by the Pope, as
well as voter apathy.
The law stops sperm and egg donation, and bans screening embryos for disease.
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HAVE YOUR SAY
Suffering may be the Catholic way, but it is not the humane way
Jennifer Hynes, Plymouth, UK
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It limits the number of embryos created for each treatment to three, all of which have to be implanted at the same time.
Many infertile couples who want children have started seeking medical assistance abroad as a result of the regulations.
The legislation also forbids embryo research.
Fertility experts said the referendum's failure was a "sad" day for infertile couples.
The European Society of Human Reproduction and
Embryology (ESHRE) warned that the Catholic Church was now likely to
step up its stand against biomedical research and fertility treatment.
Politicians defiant
Italian pollsters delivered a stinging verdict on the referendum in the country's newspapers on Monday.
Doctor Antinori Severino helped a 59-year-old give birth to twins
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"The referendum is finished, over, done with," polling analyst Nicola Piepoli wrote in La Repubblica.
Equal Opportunities Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo, the
only government figure to campaign actively for the change in the law,
voiced concerns that a comprehensive defeat would endanger Italy's laws
on abortion as a number of the issues overlap.
"The inconsistencies... are enormous. I expect in the
short-to-medium term, someone will take the initiative," she told the
Corriere della Serra newspaper.
Italians legalised divorce and abortion in two landmark
referendums held in 1974 and 1981 - decisions seen as symptomatic of
the declining influence of the Catholic Church.
"Yes" campaigners had hoped that opening the polls for a
second day would encourage Italians to cast their vote at the start of
the working week.
'Enlighten consciences'
The Pope has praised bishops for their stance on the vote
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The current law was drafted and passed amid concerns
that Italy had become one of the most liberal countries in the world in
the field of assisted conception.
Before the law was passed, one fertility doctor based in Italy was able to help women in their 60s to become pregnant.
But the law rapidly transformed Italy into one of the most restrictive countries for fertility treatment.
Italian bishops, with the backing of the newly elected
Pope Benedict XVI, told people in the predominantly Catholic country to
boycott the vote on moral grounds - and retain the status quo.
In opposing the referendum, Cardinal Camillo Ruini,
president of Italian bishops, said the Vatican was looking to
"enlighten consciences" and defend life.
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