00:00Italy's Senate has passed an amendment which allows anti-abortion groups access to women
00:07considering the procedure in public clinics.
00:10The government says the amendment fulfills the original intent of the 1978 law legalizing
00:16abortion, which includes provisions to prevent the procedure.
00:21Opponents have questioned the wisdom of allowing medically unqualified groups access to clinics.
00:28This is already happening in some regions.
00:31People who don't know what qualification they have,
00:35certainly haven't studied, haven't passed exams,
00:40to go and talk to women about topics for which the clinic is already highly qualified to deal with.
00:49Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has dismissed opposition to the bill,
00:53saying that allowing those with a pro-life message into abortion clinics
00:58was only intended to fully inform women.
01:15Under Italian law, a woman is permitted to have an abortion on request
01:19in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, or later if her health or life is endangered.
01:26But access isn't always guaranteed.
01:29The law also allows health care personnel to register as conscientious objectors
01:34and refuse to perform the procedure.
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