Italian government propose bill to provide financial support to women who reject abortion

Image credit: Alicia Petresc via Unsplash

The Italian government have proposed a new bill that seeks to provide Italian pregnant women with financial support should they reject abortion.

The “maternity income” bill, originally proposed by Sen. Maurizio Gasparri of the Forza Italia political party, is scheduled to be introduced next week. In a bid to reduce abortion rates where financial hardship is the motivator for abortion, this bill seeks to provide Italian women €1,000 per month for five years should they choose to continue with their pregnancy.

“Let’s defend life,” Sen Gasparri said when announcing the bill on X.

This is not the first move from the Italian government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to reduce abortion rates in Italy. A package of moves was approved by Meloni in April this year, one of which allowed pro-life associations access to abortion clinics so that they can give support to pregnant women who wish to avail of the abortion services.

Although Meloni has stated she would not change the current abortion law in Italy, she has stated that her pro-life moves aim to “guarantee women the possibility of choosing an alternative, offering an active role by public institutions in order to remove the financial causes that can push a woman to abort.”