Before becoming prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, promised that, despite being against abortion, she would not change the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, approved in May 1978 through the Law 194, “but women must know that there are other options”. This month, her government introduced a proposed amendment that would allow pro-life activists access to women who go to abortion clinics so that they can receive more information about the voluntary termination of pregnancy.
The measure, adopted on Tuesday by the Senate, thus allows Italian regions to guarantee that groups “with qualified experience in maternity support” can have access to women who are thinking about having an abortion in clinics run by the public Health System.
The Meloni Government argues that this new amendment fulfills the original objective of the 1978 law legalizing abortion, according to which clinics can collaborate with these activists to support motherhood and better inform patients about existing measures to support motherhood, such as financial assistance and Social Security agreements, so that the termination of pregnancy is not done for economic reasons. Opponents say the amendment makes it easier for pro-life activists to intimidate women and restrict their right to abortion.
Currently, pro-life groups already have access to clinics in several regions administered by the right and this measure could lead to the extension of this practice nationwide.
This legislative change in Italy promoted by Meloni goes against what is happening in Europe. On March 8, France approved the introduction of the right to abortion into its Constitution, in Poland, Parliament is trying to reverse the almost total ban imposed by the previous populist government, and, this month, the European Parliament approved a resolution to include abortion in EU fundamental rights.
Conveying a moderate image in international terms – for example, against initial fears, she has been a strong supporter of Ukraine and critical of Moscow -, Giorgia Meloni has been accused by the opposition of implementing an extreme right-wing agenda since arriving to power.
“She’s subtle,” he says. New York Times Gianfranco Pasquino, professor emeritus of Political Science at the University of Bologna, adding that the Government leader seeks to shift Italian and European sensibilities to the right without resorting to changing laws. “She is an excellent politician”, emphasizes the same academic.
But not even subtlety prevented Meloni from already being accused of censorship. Italy celebrates its liberation from fascism this Thursday, an anniversary overshadowed by a censorship dispute at the public broadcaster centered on the prime minister’s far-right roots.
RAI abruptly canceled a monologue on fascism by a renowned writer, which was to be broadcast on the Saturday before Liberation Day. Critics have claimed for months that RAI appointed figures ideologically close to Meloni’s government, dubbing it Telemeloni.
And the decision to remove Antonio Scurati’s monologue, in which he accused Meloni’s party of rewriting History, provoked widespread outrage.
Meloni denied censorship on his part and published Scurati’s monologue on Facebook, suggesting that Italians decide for themselves. “Those who have always been ostracized and censured by the public service will never call for censure from anyone,” he wrote.
