What happened
Italy's far-right government yesterday passed one of Europe's most restrictive bans on international surrogacy, making it illegal for Italians to use surrogate mothers abroad or work in foreign fertility clinics that facilitate such pregnancies. Domestic surrogacy has been prohibited under Italian law for two decades. 

Who said what
Italy's conservatives have framed the new law as helping protect the "dignity" of mothers, but critics call it a "crackdown by the government on LGBT families, as the law will make it virtually impossible for gay fathers to have children," The New York Times said. Same-sex couples are already banned from adoption. The new law "goes further" than surrogacy bans common in Europe, "classifying surrogacy as a rare universal crime that transcends borders, like terrorism or genocide," The Washington Post said. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — "a single mother who never married the father of her daughter — has vowed to amplify 'traditional family' values."

Italy's continued criminalization of surrogacy stands against a "backdrop of falling birthrates," Reuters said, "with national statistics institute ISTAT saying in March that births had dropped to a record low in 2023 — the 15th consecutive annual decline."

What next?
Italy's new law, punishable by up to two years in prison and 1 million euros ($1.1 million) in fines, is so far-reaching, it's "unclear if it could withstand legal challenges," the Times said. Any potential prosecution could "trigger constitutional challenges" and "diplomatic tensions," and getting proof from abroad would face high hurdles. 

What happened
The Texas Board of Parole and Pardons voted 6-0 yesterday against clemency for Robert Roberson, convicted of killing his ailing 2-year-old daughter by shaking her to death in 2002. His execution, the first ever tied to shaken baby syndrome, is scheduled for later today. Also yesterday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a final appeal from Roberson and a bipartisan Texas House committee voted unanimously to subpoena him, seeking to throw him a lifeline.

Who said what
The "thunderous bipartisan campaign to spare Roberson's life" includes doctors, faith leaders, a large majority of the Texas House, the detective who helped convict Roberson and Texas GOP megadonor and conservative activist Doug Deason, The Texas Tribune said. "I believe he is innocent," Deason tweeted Tuesday.

Medical experts and supporters of Roberson, 57, say his conviction was "based on faulty and now outdated scientific evidence related to shaken baby syndrome," The Associated Press said. His lawyers say new evidence shows his daughter died from complications of severe pneumonia, not abuse. The execution "would come less than a month after Missouri put to death Marcellus Williams amid lingering questions about his guilt," AP said.

What next?
The House panel's "unprecedented subpoena" set up a "separation of powers issue that I think would result in him not being executed tomorrow night," Benjamin Wolff, director of the Texas Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, told the Tribune yesterday. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) can't override the vote of the parole board, whose members he appointed, but he can grant a 30-day reprieve. Still, AP said, "in his nearly 10 years as governor, Abbott has halted only one imminent execution, in 2018."