Italy Approves Use of RU-486 Amidst Threats of Excommunications

CathNews today reports that the Italian Pharmaceuticals Agency (AIFA) on Thursday approved the use of the abortion drug Mifepristone, also known as RU-486. AIFA required that it be administered only in a hospital setting. Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, Pope Benedict XVI's top expert on bioethical issues, said that the Church would excommunicate any doctor who prescribes the drug and any woman who takes it.