According to the survey published in the daily La Stampa this week, 61 per cent of Italians support abortion and 76 per cent believe they should be able to request the right to die.

By comparison, only 44 per cent of those surveyed said they supported face-lifts, which are common in Italy. The dissonance was telling because more than 80 per cent of Italians consider themselves Catholic, according to a recent Pew Research poll, and Church teaching opposes abortion as a grave moral evil.

The survey also found that a large number of Italians support gay relations, with 75 per cent saying they consider same-sex couples acceptable, even though gay marriage is still illegal in Italy.

Young Italians were even more united in their support for abortion, with 82 per cent of those under the age of 24 calling for abortion rights, compared with 49 per cent of those over age 65.

Abortion is permitted in the first three months of pregnancy under Italian law for economic or health reasons, but many doctors refuse to perform the procedure on religious grounds.

The survey polled 3,888 Italians across various age groups in June. It was conducted by one of the largest banks, Intesa Sanpaolo, in conjunction with Community Media Research and published in La Stampa July 28.

In June, Catholic bishops reaffirmed their opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage while seeking new ways to deal with unmarried couples, divorced people and single parents in the Church.