(ANSA) - Rome, September 28 - The Senate said in a statement Wednesday that an anti-vaccine event has been cancelled after "Speaker Pietro Grasso exercised his moral suasion" on its organizers.
The October 4 event in a Senate conference hall planned by the center-right GAL caucus aroused the indignation of Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin and Grasso. The event includes a screening of VAXXED, a documentary purporting to link autism and vaccinations.
"My position is one of extreme disapproval," the health minister told ANSA. "The entire national and international community is indignant over the propaganda contained in this documentary".
"When anti-choice is accorded the same right to be heard as science, it's no longer a matter of democracy but one of disinformation," Lorenzin said.
Grasso also weighed in, saying he "fully shares the fears on the health damage that could be caused by improvised theories (that are) rejected by the international scientific community" contained in the film.
Grasso said he would try to persuade the organisers of the showing to "weigh the possible risks to citizens of anti-scientific disinformation campaigns like this".
The Speaker said he had always followed the advice of his GP and he advised his fellow Italians to do likewise.
Also on Wednesday, the Senate issued a statement distancing itself from the planned conference.
The event organized by center-right Senator Bartolomeo Pepe "including the screening of parts of the documentary VAXXED, does not in any way have the support of the Senate," the statement said.
Senators are free to use the conference room but must take full personal responsibility for the contents of the events they organize, the statement explained.
"The Senate can't control the contents of the debates or the opinions of the speakers, except for reasons of public order or violations of the criminal code," it said.