(ANSA) - Milan, February 27 - Almost 500 embryos stored at
controversial fertility doctor Severino Antinori's Milan clinic
should be returned to their rightful owners after his alleged
theft of embryos from a Spanish nurse, a court said Monday.
But prosecutors said that "in a not insignificant amount of
cases it is hard to tell who the mothers and fathers are" since
they were bought and sold rather than being acquired in a
non-mercenary way according to Italy's controversial assisted
fertility law.
Antinori was indicted last summer on charges of of forcibly
removing eight eggs from a Spanish patient at his Milan clinic,
the Clinica Matris.
Antinori, 71, was arrested May 13 at Rome's Fiumicino
Airport following a complaint by the 24-year-old nurse, who was
being treated for an ovarian cyst.
The woman told police she was bound, sedated, forced to
undergo removal of her eggs and deprived of her cell phone
throughout the procedure.
500 Antinori embryos to be returned (2)
Hard to tell who owners are say prosecutors