A lawmaker in Italy is proposing a bill that could send parents to prison for forcing their children to eat a vegan diet.

Elvira Savino of the conservative Forza Italia party, proposed the legislation that claims that veganism deprives children of the “essential elements” needed for their “healthy and balanced growth.”

Vegan diets restrict consumption of eggs, dairy, meat and honey.  Italy has seen several cases of children hospitalized for malnourishment after eating a vegan diet. 

The bill would consider veganism to be a form of child abuse that could result in a prison sentence of up to four years if the diet causes permanent damage to the child. If the child dies from malnourishment, the sentence goes up to seven years.

“I have nothing against vegans or veganism as long as it is a free choice by adults,” Savino told Reuters in a Wednesday interview. “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."

The proposed law has a long road ahead; it has to gain approval from a committee within the Chamber of Deputies before getting a hearing on the main floor.