Italy approves free distribution of birth control pills.
"There has always been limited access to contraception in Italy, and this could now change," stated the president of the pricing and reimbursement committee of the Italian Medicines Agency.
ANSA - The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) has approved the free distribution of contraceptive pills to women of all ages.
The initiative is expected to cost the state coffers 140 million euros per year and comes amid the government's battle to reverse the downward trend in birth rates.
"There has always been limited access to contraception in Italy, and this could now change," said Giovanna Scroccaro, president of the Aifa's pricing and reimbursement committee, to the Quotidiano Sanità website.
The organization Pro Vita e Famiglia, which defends the so-called "traditional family" and "life values from conception to death," protested, saying that "there is nothing more dangerous to women's health than trivializing issues that impact their bodies." (ANSA)