In a November address before the Italian Catholic Doctors Association, Pope Francis condemned abortion, in vitro fertilization, stem cell research and euthanasia as “experimentation with life” and “a sin against the Creator,” Religion News Service reported. He also denounced support for reproductive rights as a “‘false compassion’ [because it] promotes abortion as a way to help the woman,” according to Rome Reports. In addition, the pope characterized euthanasia as telling God “at the end of life I do it like I want.”

Pope Francis called his audience to make “choices that are courageous and go against the current, which in particular circumstances, may become points of conscientious objection.” In June, a national opinion poll from La Stampa found that 61 percent of Italians support abortion access and 76 percent support a patient’s right to request euthanasia.