Secular bioethics versus Catholic bioethics: an attempt to understand a very Italian debate

The paper presents a synthetic, yet effective, picture of the current bioethics debate in Italy. This discussion is deeply marked by the very distant positions of the secular and catholic views. It is also further marked by the marginal role to which other confessional views are limited. In this environment the need arises for a redefinition of the boundaries between the Catholic Church and the State. This redefinition, prompted also by the rulings of the Constitutional Court, is expecially important in a State that has developed an "italian-style secularity" characterized by cooperation and non-indifference towards organized religion. In this context, the process that lead to the approval of the Medically Assisted Procreation law is analyzed, finding the reasons why such a rigidly constraining model has been adopted in sharp contrast with the majority of the other European countries. Further analysis is also conducted on the so-called "biological will" and the "Preemptive Treatment Directives".