The abortion pill and the Vatican

After several hours of a heated session, Italy’s drug regulation agency, the AIFA, authorized the use of the abortion pill Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, that has been available in many European countries since the 1990’s. Nevertheless it stipulated that the pill should only be administered in hospital during the first seven weeks of pregnancy. Many Italian women felt relieved with this decision in spite of the strong opposition of the Vatican which together with some catholic politicians have reacted with dismay to the news. After battling in the United Nations and other forums against the acceptance of the pill, the Vatican could not stop the authorization. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pope’s think tank on bioethic issues, said:“The fact of taking a pill may be less traumatic for a woman, but it does not change the substance. It is still abortion.” For a Catholic, the consequences of taking, administering or prescribing the pill is going to be automatic excommunication. That is sure to create a problem in some hospitals when catholic doctors or nurses refuse to give the pill to their patients.