Italians today began voting in an emotionally charged referendum on fertility treatment and embryo research that will test the influence of the Catholic Church and newly elected Pope Benedict.
As two days of voting that could repeal a restrictive law on assisted procreation began, the big question was whether a minimum turnout of 50 per cent of eligible voters would be reached. If not, the referendums would be null and void.
Four hours after the polls opened only 4.6 per cent of those eligible had voted and commentators said there was a real risk of missing the minimum needed by Monday afternoon.
The Church and other groups who want to law to stand have urged Italians to boycott the vote.
Italy was known as a Wild West of fertility because nearly everything was allowed - including a notorious case where a doctor helped a 62-year-old woman have a child in the 1990s. But now it has some of Europe's most conservative fertility laws, brought in last year.
The number of infertile couples seeking help abroad has tripled since the law was approved. Italy already has one of Europe's lowest birth rates. If most Italians vote "yes" on any of the four referendums, the law will be significantly changed.
Approval of a change would mean the lifting of a ban on egg and sperm donors; allow embryo freezing and research; and remove limits on the number of eggs that can be fertilised during each attempt.
The referendums also aim to change language that gives embryos full legal rights and prevents diagnosis for genetic disorders before they are transferred to the uterus - even though women can then abort a foetus that has disorders.
Equal Opportunities Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo - who broke ranks with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi --says the current law is an attack on women's rights and needs to be changed in order to help Italian women have children in Italy.