Council of Europe says abortion too difficult in Italy

(ANSA) - Strasbourg, April 11 - The Council of Europe said Monday that women in Italy continue to encounter "significant difficulty" in accessing pregnancy-termination services even though abortion is legal. The Council said that, as a result, Italy was violating women's right to health. The nation's biggest trade union CGIL filed a petition on this issue to the Council, which aims to promote human rights and democracy. The organization added that doctors who decided not to be conscientious objectors in abortion procedures faced discrimination in Italy. It said these health professions were victims of "various types of direct and indirect labour disadvantages".