A woman who has been in a vegetative state for 17 years in Italy was transferred to a hospital on Tuesday where she will be allowed to die following a high-profile debate over euthanasia in the country.

Eluana Englaro, 37, arrived early Tuesday at a private clinic in the northeastern town of Udine, said family lawyer Vittorio Angiolini.

A small crowd of anti-euthanasia activists tried to prevent her ambulance from leaving the Catholic clinic in Lecco, near Milan.

Englaro has been kept in a vegetative state since a car collision 17 years ago and has become a symbol of Italy's right-to-die movement and the Roman Catholic Church's rejection of euthanasia.

The Vatican has strongly opposed the move. On the weekend, Pope Benedict XVI called euthanasia a "false solution" to suffering, but did not mention Englaro.

Last month, a court in Milan overruled a regional order barring local hospitals from halting her life support, ending an intense 10-year legal battle.

Her father is seeking to disconnect the woman's feeding tube, saying it's her wish.

The court accepted that before the accident, Englaro had expressed a preference for dying over being kept alive artificially.

Italy does not allow euthanasia. Patients have a right to refuse treatment, but they are barred from giving advance directions on what treatment they wish to receive if they become unconscious.

With files from Associated Press