A proposal to make women pay for abortion if they resort to it more than once has divided Italian prime minister Mr Silvio Berlusconi's government.
More than 25 years after Italy legalised abortion, a senator from Berlusconi's Forza Italia party said at the weekend that he would propose a law to make women pay half-price for a second abortion and full-price for any subsequent abortions.
"It is unacceptable that so many children should die in their mother's womb," said Mr Antonio Gentile.
Italian senator, Mr Antonio Gentile
Currently, an abortion in the first 90 days of a pregnancy is free under Italy's public health system, as is intervention in the case of a health emergency even after 90 days. According to latest data there were 130,000 abortions in 2002, down from a peak of 235,000 in 1982.
Health minister Mr Girolamo Sirchia indicated he might consider the proposal, saying the 1978 abortion law needed to be revisited to "evaluate the positive and negative aspects".
"I don't know the details of the proposal but I appreciate the motives that inspired it; that is the need to avoid abortion being thought of as a method of contraception," he told Sky Italia's television news channel.
The comments infuriated women's rights groups and opposition lawmakers but also ruffled feathers in the government - despite the strong influence that the Catholic Church, which opposes all abortion, has on policy making in Italy.
Critics say the so-called Law 194 not only guarantees women the right to choose but also protects their privacy, so that no one can keep track of who has abortions or how many.
"This charge idea seems absolutely preposterous to me, it's shocking," said Equal Opportunities Minister Ms Stefania Prestigiacomo, also of Forza Italia, adding that she thought it was just a result of the political summer doldrums.