The Constitutional Court has declared unconstitutional the prohibition on the intentional mother from recognizing as her own the child born in Italy as a result of medically assisted procreation (IVF) legitimately carried out abroad. In the ruling filed today, the Constitutional Court upheld the questions of constitutionality raised by the Court of Lucca, stating that the failure to recognize from birth impairs the child's right to personal identity and compromises the full exercise of his or her rights, including the right to be educated, assisted and maintained by both parents. According to the Court, this non-recognition also damages the child's right to maintain a stable and continuous relationship with both parents, as well as with ascendants and relatives of each family branch. Two principles underlie the decision: the shared responsibility that arises when a couple chooses to resort to IVF, and the best interests of the child, which must be protected vis-à-vis both parents, including the intended mother. On the other hand, the Constitutional Court rejected doubts of constitutionality on the rule excluding single women from access to IVF, finding the legislature's choice neither unreasonable nor disproportionate. In this case, the Court emphasized, it is an assessment that also takes into account the interest of the future born, who would be conceived in a context lacking, from the outset, a father figure. Finally, the Court clarified that there are no constitutional obstacles to the legislature extending access to IVF to single-parent families as well, but that this choice is up to Parliament.