Conceiving Life: Reproductive Politics and the Law in Contemporary Italy [Hardcover]

This volume examines the evolution of reproductive law in Italy from the `far west' of the 1980s and 90s through to one of the most potentially restrictive systems in Europe. The book employs an array of sociological, philosophical and legal material in order to discover why such a repressive piece of legislation has been produced at the end of a period of substantial change in the dynamic of gender relations in Italy. The book also discusses Italian policy within the wider European policy framework.Contents: Introduction: conceiving life in law; Law, gender and nation in contemporary Italy; Rethinking reproductive freedom: the case of abortion; Vitapolitics: the campaign against reproductive choice; The embryo's sovereign power; Reformulating reproductive citizenship; Bibliography; Index.Through analysis of sociological, philosophical and legal material, Patrick Hanafin examines reproductive law in Italy, and the reasons why such a repressive piece of legislation could be produced at the end of a period of substantial change in the dynamic of gender relations.Patrick Hanafin is Director of Research at the Department of Law, Birkbeck College, UK.'The question at the heart of this book - how and why womens bodies emerge as sites of conflict about nation, community and identity - is an important and timely one. Hanafins response, arrived at through an analysis of the evolution of the law regulating reproduction in Italy, will offer much of interest to anyone who cares about law and gender, reproductive rights, or national identity.' Sally Sheldon, Kent Law School, UK 'Conceiving Life is an excellent example of the important intersections between politics, religion, civil society, gender, and the law. Not only does Hanafin's work demonstrate a contribution to the aforementioned fields, but it also highlights the usefulness of a comparative approach to the study of law. Although firmly rooted in feminist theory, he shows a complex application of all these fields tolã