Italian lawmaker proposes moratorium on abortion
Rome, Jan. 2, 2008 (CWNews.com) -

An Italian lawmaker is gathering support for legislation that would call for a moratorium on abortions.
The proposal by Sandro Bondi of the Forza Italian party came in response to a statement by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the former president of the Italian bishops' conference, who in turn was echoing a suggestion by Giuliano Ferrara, the editor of the newspaper Il Foglio. In a televised interview, Cardinal Ruini said that a moratorium on abortion would be a logical step, following upon a UN vote calling for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty.
Reacting to the cardinal's words, Bondi unveiled a proposal "to revist the country's 30-year-old abortion law." The new discussion is overdue in light of advances in modern medicine that provide new insights on the development of the unborn child, the Italian lawmaker said.
Dr. Paola Binetti, a leader of the Teodem wing of the Democratic Party, announced her support for the proposal. "Sandro Bondi's motion is a great step toward justice," she said. While the proposal is being introduced by an opposition party leader, Binetti added that "I do not support party discipline on such matters."
A leader of the Democratic party, Marina Sereni, indicated that the party as a whole would not support the moratorium. "The current abortion law is an excellent law," she said, claiming that it "contributed to the elimination of clandestine abortion."