Italy: Abortion pill to be available in Rome

AKI ^ | 5/21/2010

[markomalley]

Rome, 21 May (AKI) - The RU486 abortion pill will be dispensed in the Italian capital Rome and surrounding region, its conservative governor, Renata Polverini said on Friday. The controversial drug became available in Italy in April and has already been given to several women in hospitals the northern Lombardy region and southern region of Puglia.

"Taking the abortion pill is equivalent to a surgical abortion that is permissible for medical reasons. For this reason, the Lazio region will administer RU486 in its hospitals," said Polverini, during an address to a pro-life meeting.

"We want to stress that the drug must be dispensed in hospitals," Polverini said, urging adequate counselling for women considering terminating their pregancy.

"For a woman, there's no worse option than an abortion," she said.

The abortion pill is a highly emotive issue in overwhelmingly Catholic Italy, one of the last countries in Europe to introduce the drug.

The Vatican has censured RU486 and about 70 percent of Italian doctors say they are unwilling to perform abortions on religious grounds.

Two newly elected conservative governors, Roberto Cota in the northern Piedmont region and Luca Zaia in the northeastern Veneto region have openly opposed the abortion pill being made available in local hospitals.

The Italian pharmaceutical authority AIFA in July 2009 authorised the administration of RU486 in hospitals under medical supervision as an alternative to surgical abortion up to the 49th day of pregnancy.

Abortion has been legal in Italy since 1978 in the first 90 days of pregnancy and until the 24th week if the life of the mother is at risk or the foetus is malformed.

[rbosque]

With the low European birthrate, the rise of Islam is Europe and the fact that this evil is an affront to God, this is the last thing they need!

[HiTech RedNeck]

A sociological Darwin award is theirs.

[moovova]

Are they gonna make the priests take the pill?

[marajade]

maybe you prefer this instead?

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/may/08/na-mother-of-15-kids-tells-her-side/

[Jack Hydrazine]

Italy has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world at 1.41 children per family. I figure the abortion pill will help that go lower to 1.2 or so.

[Salvation]

Anyone who approves of or helps with an abortion is in serious trouble with God!

1:

CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 2271  (618 bytes )  preview document matches 1 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, URL: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2271.htm

97%

2:

CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 2272  (580 bytes )  preview document matches 2 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A URL: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2272.htm

96%

3:

CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 2322  (290 bytes )  preview document matches 2 From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS 27 § 3), URL: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2322.htm

96%

4:	CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 2274  (554 bytes )  preview document matches gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent URL: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2274.htm

[rbosque]

Absolutely.