Woohoo. I received my very first ballot papers from the Italian consulate for the 12th of June referendum. This has nothing to do with the French one on the European constitution, which, by the way, we have wisely ratified via parliament. It is actually much more in line with what I believe referendums should be used for.
The four questions are about whether to update a controversial law (legge 40) in order to permit:
1- Stem cell research and experimentation
2- Conservation of embryos
3- Mother having preceding rights over the embryo
4- The use of donor sperm/eggs
The ballots, along with (surprisingly) understandable instructions…
It took 4 million signatures of protest to get to this referendum. 4 million! I am proud to notice that, unlike other countries (you know who I am thinking of) we are way more secular than our government.
Shamelessly though, the Vatican, and its newest pope Benedict XVI, didn’t miss the chance to stick their nose in Italian affairs, urging to abstain from the vote (rather than vote against). In fact to be considered valid, the referendum must record a turnout of more than 50%
Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen.
My contribution
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