A debate has once again erupted in Italy regarding abortion. The right-wing government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants to allow opposition groups access to women considering abortion. This step could further increase the already existing tension regarding abortion in Italy, a Catholic majority country.
This proposal of the government is believed to fulfill the basic objective of the 1978 law (Law 194). Under this law, abortion is allowed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Additionally, there is provision for publicly funded counseling centers to advise women about their rights and options for not having an abortion. However, in reality access to abortion is not always easy. Current law allows medical personnel to register an unreasonable objection and refuse to perform an abortion. Many workers do this, which means women sometimes have to travel long distances to have the procedure.
Meloni says that she will not withdraw the 1978 law, but wants to implement it completely. She is also giving priority to encouraging women to have children to overcome Italy's demographic crisis.
Italy's birthrate
is already one of the lowest in the world and hit a record low last year, with just 379,000 babies born. Meloni's conservative forces have campaigned to encourage at least 500,000 births annually by 2033. Demographers say this rate is necessary to prevent Italy's economy from collapsing.
Meloni, who is strong on the opposition,
Meloni has called the allegations of the opposition as 'fake news'. They say Law 194 provides for measures to prevent abortion, including advising pregnant women about alternatives. The proposed amendment specifically allows anti-abortion groups or groups supporting motherhood to join volunteer groups working at counseling centres.
Recently, France included the right to abortion in its constitution on International Women's Day. Last year, the Catholic-majority nation of Malta voted to ease some of the strictest abortion laws in the European Union. Poland has also moved forward with proposals to lift almost the entire ban on abortion enacted by its previous right-wing government.
On the other hand, Italy's leftist party fears that the country could follow the path of the US, where states are restricting access to abortion. Ellie Schlein, head of the opposition Democratic Party, says Italy needs to establish a mandatory percentage of doctors willing to perform abortions in public hospitals. He said that otherwise these rights would remain only on paper.
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