A 43-year-old woman has won the right to implant eggs fertilised with the sperm of her ex-husband against his will in a first for the Italian justice system.

Judges in the town of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, in the southern region of Campania, said that a 2004 law on medically assisted pregnancy allowed people to withdraw their consent up to, but not after, the moment that an egg was fertilised.

The woman said she hoped that her legal victory would help other women and children. “I believe in good conscience that I have done something useful for lots of other women in my situation and for the many individuals conceived in frozen test tubes, to whom until now the law did not offer an alternative,” she said.

About 20 years ago a court in Bologna gave an opposite ruling, upholding the right of the potential father not to have a child.

A lawyer said that this ruling could imply a significant economic burden for the reluctant father, who would be responsible for maintenance until the child was financially independent.