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Safe Abortion Day: women in Italy often have no choice

by Emma Biginelli Macchia, reporter

“I was 17. It was my first time and it went terribly wrong. I got pregnant.”

Eleonora Margaritini’s story starts in 2003. It’s a story about not having a choice. On International Safe Abortion Day thousands of Italian women took on the streets to protest against an abortion system which still doesn’t work.  

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Eleonora Margaritini found out she was pregnant in a hospital, because she was having trouble inserting needles in her belly. When the test results came back positive, she had to decide. “No one in my family wanted me to keep the baby”, she says, “I was visiting one doctor after the other trying to understand how to end the pregnancy.” Eleonora, 32 years old now, is from Potenza Picena, a small village in the Italian region of Marche. In 2003, in the whole region, there were two or three doctors who weren’t conscientious objectors. When she asked a private clinic doctor about where to have the abortion, she was told to come to the UK. Travelling all the way to London was the safer and quicker way to have the abortion.

“Nowadays things aren’t much better”, says Eleonora, “there are maybe two hospitals in which you can have an abortion in the whole region. You often have to travel a hundred miles just for a visit.”

After that visit, Eleonora decided to keep the baby, against her family’s will. “When she was born, I was alone. There is no psychological support, before or after the abortion. It is a difficult choice, all I got was judgmental stares.” She had to continue her studies, find a job, reconsider her all future, all on her own. Today her baby is 15 years old, and her name is Claudia.

“Italian people are narrow-minded. A woman must be able to choose what to do with her life and her body. A baby has needs and single, young mothers don’t get enough help.”

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Picture credits: Elena Beccaria

On International Safe Abortion Day, the feminist action network “Non una di meno”, which translates into “Not One Less”, led demonstrations in all the major Italian cities, asking the Italian Parliament to recognise women’s freedom of choice. Together with the “Molto+di194” network, they called on the government and launched a petition to introduce cheaper and safer termination of pregnancy. For the first time, Molto+di194 brings together women, doctors, nurses, gynecologists, activists and various associations from all over Italy. Law 194 is the law which regulates abortion in the country.

Only a few weeks ago, senator Simone Pillon, member of the far-right party Lega, had told the press that his plan was to change the law 194 to make abortion illegal. According to his statements, his goal was to reach a zero abortions policy, to “sustain maternity, otherwise Italian people will be extinct by 2050”. Yesterday, the city of Verona passed a motion and officially declared itself a pro-life city. The council will give fundings to Catholic associations that promote anti-abortion activities.

“The situation in Italy is appalling” says journalist Eleonora Cirant, member of “Non una di meno” and “Molto+di194”. Cirant has spent years of her career researching and studying about reproductive safety. According to a new Ministry of Health report, only 60% of public maternity wards offer the possibility to terminate the pregnancy. “It means that in 4 cases out of 10, a woman can’t have an abortion, when the law states that every hospital should offer this opportunity.”

Furthermore, in a very high number of public hospitals, 100% of the doctors are conscientious objectors and they refuse to help women have an abortion. These hospitals have to find and hire an outside doctor who is not an objector, and he goes to various hospitals just to terminate a pregnancy. But those doctors don’t have the power to perform abortions after the first trimester. “This means that those hospitals which have to hire an outside doctor can’t guarantee their services to women who need to have an abortion in the second trimester, even if they are in danger”, the activist explains, “and these are often the most tragic cases. You rarely find a hospital available”, she adds.

Activists are worried that this government won’t do anything to solve these issues. “The new government has proved to be a repressive and reactionary one and lots of its representatives have shown their willingness to form a society in which civil rights are limited as far as homosexual relationships and women’s choices are concerned.” says Cirant. Unfortunately, the law on abortion is written in a way which allows it to be ignored. If the government doesn’t do anything to tackle the issues of conscientious objection and the lack of information, things will only get worse.

 

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