Overview of the legality and prevalence of abortions in Italy
Abortion law
Italian Parliament
Long title
Provisions regarding the social protection of motherhood and the voluntary termination of a pregnancy
Citation
Law No. 194 of 1978
Enacted by
Chamber of Deputies
Enacted by
Senate of the Republic
Signed by
Giovanni Leone
Signed
22 May 1978
Commenced
22 May 1978
Legislative history
First chamber: Chamber of Deputies
Introduced by
Vincenzo Balzamo
Passed
13 April 1978
Second chamber: Senate of the Republic
Passed
18 May 1978
Status: Current legislation
Abortion in Italy became legal in May 1978, when Italian women were allowed to terminate a pregnancy on request during the first 90 days. A proposal to repeal the law was considered in a 1981 referendum, but was rejected by nearly 68% of voters; another referendum aimed at eliminating the restrictions was rejected by 88.4%.[1]
Italian women are eligible to request an abortion for health, economic or social reasons, including the circumstances under which conception occurred. Abortions are performed free of charge in public hospitals or in private structures authorized by the regional health authorities. The law also allows termination in the second trimester of the pregnancy only when the life of the woman would be at risk if the pregnancy is carried to term or the fetus carries genetic or other serious malformations which would put the mother at risk of serious psychological or physical consequences.
The law states that, unless a state of emergency requires immediate intervention, a period of seven days, not compulsory, has to occur between the medical authorization and the effective date of the termination. Although the law only permits pregnancy termination to women at least eighteen years old, it also includes provisions for women younger than eighteen, who can request the intervention of a judge when the legal tutor refuses the intervention, or there are reasons to exclude the legal tutor from the process. The judge has to make a decision within five days of the request. Women younger than eighteen do not need parental consent in case of urgent situation or after 90 days.[2]
^"CCIES at the Kinsey Institute: Italy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
^Cite error: The named reference ItalianLaw1978no194 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
AbortioninItaly became legal in May 1978, when Italian women were allowed to terminate a pregnancy on request during the first 90 days. A proposal to...
families. In most European countries, abortion is generally permitted within a term limit below fetal viability (e.g. 12 weeks in Germany and Italy, or 14...
Abortionin Canada is legal throughout pregnancy and is publicly funded as a medical procedure under the combined effects of the federal Canada Health...
Abortion is a divisive issue in the United States. The issue of abortion is prevalent in American politics and culture wars, though a majority of Americans...
Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request...
Abortionin the United Kingdom is de facto available under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967 in Great Britain and the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No...
medical abortion, also known as medication abortion or non-surgical abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical...
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage...
Abortionin Australia is legal. There are no federal abortion laws, and full decriminalisation of the procedure has been enacted in all jurisdictions...
Abortionin Russia is legal as an elective procedure up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and in special circumstances at later stages. Following the takeover...
abortion—the deliberate termination of a pregnancy—has been known since ancient times. Various methods have been used to perform or attempt abortion,...
Abortionin Germany is decriminalized on demand during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy upon condition of mandatory counseling. The same goes later in...
Abortionin France is legal upon request until 14 weeks after conception (16 weeks after the pregnant woman's last menstrual period). Abortions at later...
This list contains songs which have lyrics that refer to abortionin some manner. Contents: Top 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y...
Abortionin Japan is allowed under a term limit of 22 weeks for endangerment to the health of the pregnant woman, economic hardship, or rape. Chapter...
Christianity and abortion have a long and complex history. There is no direct reference to abortionin the Bible, nor any explicit condemnation of abortion. The lack...
Abortionin New Zealand is available within the framework of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, which entirely eliminated the criminal status of abortion...
Abortionin Malta is illegal except in cases where the life of the pregnant woman is at risk. Until 2023, it was illegal without exception. Malta has the...
Muslim views on abortion are shaped by Hadith (the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as transmitted through chains...
regularly report abortion statistics in the United States. They use different methodologies, so they report somewhat different abortion rates, but they...
Abortion has been legal in India under various circumstances with the introduction of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971. The Medical...
of the Catholic Church promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992 oppose all forms of abortion procedures whose direct purpose is to destroy a zygote, blastocyst...
to as third trimester abortion, describes the termination of pregnancy by induced abortion during a late stage of gestation. In this context, late is...
Since 2021, abortion has no longer been a federal crime in Mexico. However, the criminal law in Mexico varies by state. On 7 September 2021, the Mexican...
Abortion is illegal in the Philippines. The constitutional provision that "[The State] shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the...
Abortionin Israel is permitted when determined by a termination committee, with the vast majority of cases being approved, as of 2019[update]. The rate...
Abortionin Brazil is a crime, with penalties of 1 to 3 years of imprisonment for the pregnant woman, and 1 to 4 years of imprisonment for the doctor...
Numerous religious traditions have taken a stance on abortion but few are absolute. These stances span a broad spectrum, based on numerous teachings, deities...
Global Information