Italy revises guidelines for women to use abortion pill as outpatient

Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza on August 8 announced a change in the country's abortion guidelines allowing women to visit hospital as an outpatient as opposed to the earlier requirement of getting hospitalised in order to terminate a pregnancy. Earlier, women in Italy had to get admitted to a hospital while using the abortion pill but now they can do it as an outpatient after successful lobbying from pro-choice advocates and other groups. 

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Italian health minister took to Twitter to announce the historic change saying that it was based on scientific evidence and in full compliance with Law 194, which permits voluntary termination of pregnancy in the country during the first 90 days. "The new guidelines, based on scientific evidence, provide for the voluntary termination of pregnancy with a pharmacological method in day hospital and up to the ninth week. It is an important step forward in full compliance with 194 which is and remains a law of civilization," Roberto Speranza tweeted on Saturday. 

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Abortion in Italy

Abortion in Italy was legalised in 1978 and the country approved the use of an abortion pill in 2009, but with certain restrictions such as women had to be admitted to a hospital for use of the pill. Roberto while talking to the press said that the law required a review because it had been a decade since it was approved. Roberto added that scientific study suggests that hospitalisation is no longer required because the pill is safe to be used by women as an outpatient.  

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(Image Credit: AP)