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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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Italy OKs RU-486; Vatican Threatens Excommunications

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(Newser) – Italy has legalized the abortion drug RU-486, drawing the ire of the Vatican, which threatened to excommunicate doctors who prescribe the medication and women who take it. A church official said using the pill is "a sin in a moral and juridical sense," but a politician who is also a gynecologist hailed yesterday's decision, telling ANSA, "It's above all a victory for Italian women, who from today have more choice."

The Italian Drug Agency tacitly took note of the controversy in its ruling, which read in part, "The task of protecting the well-being of citizens must take precedence over personal convictions," the AP reports. Drugstores still can't dispense RU-486, which must be administered by a doctor in a hospital. Over the Vatican's objections, Italy legalized abortion in 1978. The so-called morning-after pill has been in legal use since 2000.

An aerial view of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
An aerial view of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.   (AP Photo)
The Italian agency that regulates pharmaceuticals has approved the use of the abortion pill known as RU-486, seen here as Mifeprex.
The Italian agency that regulates pharmaceuticals has approved the use of the abortion pill known as RU-486, seen here as Mifeprex.   (Getty Images)
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22 comments
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TuStepp
Jul 31, 09 1:45 PM CDT
It may be a sin, but I still think you should have a vagina to make that kind of decision. Whatever happened to forgiveness anyways? Just kicken those sinners to the curb now, i guess. Reply
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+6
IN RESPONSE:
radnip
Aug 2, 09 5:50 PM CDT
Whatever happened to Judgment? Humans judge now?
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0
jamerican
Jul 31, 09 2:28 PM CDT
They are only trying to protect innocent lives since women have proven too heartless to protect a helpless child from murder. Reply
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-8
IN RESPONSE:
Toon
Jul 31, 09 3:18 PM CDT
What murder? The pill is taken one day after sex while sperm take several days to reach the egg. Why do you feel so sorry for the sperm that might have made it to an egg and not the millions that never had a chance?
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+6
IN RESPONSE:
cityeyes
Jul 31, 09 3:18 PM CDT
At two months calling it a child is stretching it just a tiny bit.
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