Italy passes contested plan to 'support motherhood' in abortion clinics

24/4/2024 6:15

        Italy's Senate gave final approval on Tuesday to a contested government plan to allow groups who "support motherhood" into abortion clinics to try to
        deter women terminating pregnancies.
        
        Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party attached the proposal in an amendment to a bill on Rome's post-COVID-19 recovery plan, which includes a chapter dedicated to the health sector.
        
        Meloni is staunchly anti-abortion, but pledged during her victorious general election campaign in 2022 that despite her personal convictions she would not change existing legislation on the subject.
        
        The Senate approved the bill to allow anti-abortion groups into publicly run family advice clinics by a vote of 95-to-68 in a confidence motion.
        
        It had obtained a first green light in the lower house Chamber of Deputies last week, sparking fierce criticism among opposition parties that called it an attack on abortion rights in place since 1978.