Rome, 14 Feb.(AKI) - Thousands of women were expected to protest to defend abortion rights in nationwide rallies being held in major Italian cities late on Thursday.

The protests followed a raid by police on a hospital in the southern city of Naples earlier this week, on what was thought to be an illegal abortion.

Rallies were being held in Rome, Milan, Bologna and Naples and Italian Health Minister Livia Turco was expected to attend one of them.

Turco is a member of former prime minister Romano Prodi's centre-left government and considered a staunch supporter of the law which permits abortion on demand in the first 90 days of pregnancy, and later if the life of the mother is at risk.

The national protests came after police on Monday raided the Federico II hospital in Naples, after an anonymous phone call saying a foeticide or the death of foetus had taken place.

According to a preliminary inquiry, the woman found herself in a situation of an unexpected and sudden miscarriage.

The spontaneous abortion took place in the fourth week of the pregnancy according to hospital officials. That means it would still be inside the legal framework.

Right after the procedure Italian police interrogated the woman and took her hospital chart. One medical official told the media that the foetus reportedly had serious abnormalities.

In an interview with Adnkronos, Naples public prosecutor Vittorio Russo said:

"We are identifying the person who called [the emergency number] 112 on Monday, to notify the police that a woman was giving birth in the bathroom of the obstretics department of the hospital."

According to Russo, the man who called the police also mentioned his name and surname and that he worked in the hospital.

"I do not think a police raid was carried out in the obstetrics department," Russo said. "It only acted according to the rules."