ITALY MAY RECOGNIZE THE RIGHTS OF THE UNBORN

I wonder if those U.S. Supreme Court Justice's of a progressive persuasion that are always telling us that we need to consider international law when deciding the finer points of American jurisprudence will want to jump in on this one? For some reason I'll bet they suddenly decide that maybe they should look a little closer to home for precedence.

A proposal in the Italian Senate would recognize the rights of the unborn, affirming that every human being has juridical capacity from the moment of conception.

The bill was drafted by Carlo Casini, president of the Pro-Life Movement and Member of the European Parliament, and backed by leaders of the Italian Parliament: Maurizio Gasparri, Gaetano Quagliarello and Laura Bianconi. The measure was presented last Thursday.

During the press conference to present the bill, Gasparri explained that it is not an attempt to rewrite Italy's current abortion law, but to keep it within its original intentions.

He said the bill would prohibit distortion of the law "to the point of denying the one conceived the dignity of person and of using abortion as a contraceptive, two conditions that the law rejects."

Casini told ZENIT that the bill spells "progress in the juridical culture." He maintained that recognizing the rights of the unborn "is a more solid and lasting support for the rights of everyone."

Zenit