The Italian media are reporting that the baby who survived for 24 hours after an abortion was unwanted by his mother because he had a cleft lip and palate, a condition which can be corrected by surgery.

The 22-week-old baby was found alive a day after the operation by a priest who went to pray beside his body in the Rossano Calabro Hospital [Cosenza, Calabria]. The priest was astonished when he saw that there was movement under the sheet with which the child was covered and he immediately called for help.

The child was rushed to a special unit at another hospital but doctors there were unable to save him.

Under Italian law, a woman can request an abortion on health, economic or social grounds, including the circumstances in which conception took place, during the first 90 days of pregnancy. In cases where the foetus is old enough to live autonomously, an interruption of the pregnancy can only be carried out if the mother’s life is in serious danger and in such a case doctors must do everything in their power to safeguard the life of the child.
There is no specific time limit in Italian law for this. In a case where a baby survives an abortion, doctors must try to save the baby’s life even if the mother is against it, because in law that baby has a right to life.

Police are already looking into the possibility of bringing a homicide charge against the Rossano Calabro Hospital and a Ministry of Health investigation begins today. The investigations will focus primarily on who was responsible for declaring the child dead after the abortion. At the very least charges of negligence are expected to be brought.

The Vatican has said that the law needs to be clarified to ensure the protection of viable foetuses and there have been further calls for changes to Italy’s abortion law.

Do you think that the abortion law should be changed?