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 Savino, from the conservative Forza Italia party, has put forward a
law that would hold parents legally responsible for feeding their
children on "a diet devoid of elements essential for healthy and
balanced growth", according to its text.
"I have nothing against vegans or veganism as long as it is a free
choice by adults," she told Reuters in a telephone interview on
Wednesday, days after she presented the proposed law in the lower
house Chamber of Deputies.
"I just find it absurd that some parents are allowed to impose their
will on children in an almost fanatical, religious way, often
without proper scientific knowledge or medical consultation," she
said.
"Do-it-yourself on these matters terrorizes me."
Some pediatricians advise against feeding children on a vegan diet,
which they say can lack sufficient nutrition.
Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry and vegans also do not
eat animal products such as eggs and dairy foods.
The law proposes jail sentences of a year for raising a child on a
vegan diet, up to four years if the child develops a permanent
health problem and up to seven years if the child dies as a result.
It would apply to children under 16 and penalties would increase by
a year if the child is under three.
Savino, 39, who has a seven-year-old son and who eats meat "but not
too much", said she proposed the law after being shocked by several
recent incidents in Italy.
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Last month in the northern city of Milan, doctors determined that a
one-year-old boy who was taken to a hospital had the weight of a
three-month-old because of a vegan diet.
In 2015, an Italian court ordered a divorced mother to stop raising
her 12-year-old son on a vegan diet after the boy's father filed a
complaint that it was stunting his growth.
"If even only one child ends up in a hospital because of this
behavior, I feel we have to protect them all," said Savino, noting
that she believes pediatricians should be obliged to report vegan
parents to authorities just as they would if they noticed signs of
physical abuse on a child.
The draft will be discussed by parliamentary committees before it
goes to the floor for debate. That is expected this year.
(Editing by Louise Ireland)
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