Tammy and Jordan Myers are the biological parents of newborns Eames Alexander and his sister, Ellison Erin Jewel.

The low Italian birth rate is certainly on the government’s radar: the president, Sergio Mattarella, said early in 2020 that the country’s falling birth rate is an existential problem. There is now one Italian child for every five Italians over the age of 65. As sociologist Giorgia Serughetti argues “The other problem is that the country gets old, as fewer young people mean less energy and ideas”.

Voluntary assisted dying sounds like a description of what should be occurring in normal medical practice: clinicians recognising those who are dying and then assisting them to live comfortably until they die. Such medical practice is currently the domain of palliative care, which can, and does, deliver relief of pain and suffering for those who consent to receive it.

“Anyone who purposefully, knowingly or recklessly performs or attempts to perform or induce an abortion shall be guilty of murder and punished as provided by law for such crime,” House Bill 338 would amend Mississippi law to say.