Pro-choice Catholics protest at Vatican after abortion left off summit agenda

Quilt featuring stories of Catholic women who have had terminations unfurled outside event hosted by the Pope

Angela Giuffrida in Rome
Thu 3 Oct 2024

A vibrantly coloured, 15-metre-long quilt woven with stories of Catholic women who have had abortions has been unrolled outside the Vatican in protest against the topic being left off the agenda of a major summit hosted by Pope Francis.

Thursday’s demonstration by Catholics for Choice, a US-based abortion rights group, comes days after the pontiff emphasised his traditional views of women while reiterating that abortion was “murder” and that doctors who terminate pregnancies were “hitmen”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/03/pro-choice-catholics-stage-protest-after-abortion-left-off-summit-agenda

Italy’s abortion divisions sharpen under Meloni’s leadership

By Alvise Armellini, Claudia Cristoferi and Yesim Dikmen
August 6, 2024

ROME/NAPLES (Reuters) - With Giorgia Meloni, Italy has probably the most openly anti-abortion prime minister in western Europe, but terminating pregnancies in the majority-Catholic country that hosts the Vatican has never been easy.

When Linda Feki, a 33-year-old singer and musician from Naples, posted her account of stigma and abuse in undergoing the procedure, she received heartfelt messages of support from many Italian women who identified with her experience.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italys-abortion-divisions-sharpen-under-melonis-leadership-2024-08-06/

Feminist Film History Is Alive in Bologna

Revival festivals like Il Cinema Ritrovato drive home the importance of funding for and preservation of the arts. Long live feminist cinema rediscovered!

PUBLISHED 7/21/2024
by MAGGIE HENNEFELD, Ms. Magazine

Three thousand cinephiles congregated at dusk in the Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, Italy, on June 27 for an outdoor cine-concert of The Wind (1928)—a silent film about desperate love in bad weather—with the message “FREE ABORTION” projected on a church at the side of the square. The people hummed in euphoric anticipation. But they were not alone. Lesbian vampires, cross-dressing gun slingers, communist sex workers, feminist cinematographers and a woman whose bad date literally turns out to be Satan—these hell-raising dissidents all had pride of place in the feminist programming at Il Cinema Ritrovato.

The annual archival film festival draws thousands of spectators from all over the world to Bologna every June. The Ritrovato’s rallying cry is to spotlight long unseen, unjustly forgotten but urgently timely works from the celluloid archive and unleash them onto the volatile, open-ended present. A pride parade, reproductive rights activism and pro-Palestine student protests intersected with a nine-day festival whose programming ranged from Japanese costume dramas and Napoléon biopics to Algerian feminist essay films, 16mm queer body poems, and “second wave exploitation” comedies about utopian-socialist polygamy.

Continued; https://msmagazine.com/2024/07/21/feminist-film-history-bologna-italy-il-cinema-ritrovato/

21.07.2024

Film, Art, Books

Delphine Seyrig

Ellen Burstyn

feminist film history

Italy’s Meloni plays down G7 abortion row

June 15, 2024
By Kathryn Armstrong, BBC News

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says a suspected row over the absence of the word "abortion" in a G7 statement has been blown out of proportion.

She issued the response after a commitment made last year by G7 nations to address access to "safe and legal abortion" was left out of the final statement at this year's summit in Italy.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c511x7j9j0eo

15.06.2024

Meloni wins diplomatic spat with Macron as abortion vanishes from G7 final text

The presence of Pope Francis, who joined the meeting of the world’s leading industrialised nations, might have influenced this outcome, according to Meloni's right-hand man.

By Gerardo Fortuna
14/06/2024

In a powerful show of influence, Italy’s hard right leader managed to scrap any reference to safe abortion in the final declaration of the group of industrialised democracies.

The final wording of the G7 final communique has not included any mention of abortion as was the case at last year’s summit in Hiroshima.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/health/2024/06/14/meloni-wins-diplomatic-spat-with-macron-as-abortion-vanishes-from-g7-final-text

14.06.2024

EU Policy. Meloni’s attempt to dilute G7 abortion declaration ires diplomats

The most recent draft text of the G7 final declaration proposed by Italy hosting this year’s presidency, seen by Euronews, removed all references to abortion.

By Gerardo Fortuna
June 13, 2024

Italy’s hard-right government holding the G7 presidency is seeking to scrap any reference to safe access to abortion in the text of the final leaders' declaration, currently under negotiation.

Negotiations over the final declaration wording of the G7 summit — which will be held in Italy from Thursday until Saturday — are underway, but sources have told Euronews that members of the group of rich nations are at odds over a sidebar clause on abortion rights.

French and Canadian delegations are pushing for an addition to the text in which leaders “affirm the importance of preserving and ensuring effective access to safe and legal abortion and post-abortion care”, according to a draft text seen by Euronews.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/health/2024/06/13/meloni-attempt-to-dilute-g7-abortion-declaration-ires-diplomats

13.06.2024

Italy opposes reference to ‘safe and legal abortion’ in G7 draft communiqué

By Alexandra Brzozowski and Catherine Feore | Euractiv
June 12, 2024

Italy has worked to torpedo language on sexual and reproductive rights included in the G7 draft communiqué, Euractiv has learned.

While G7 leaders meeting in Italy on 13-15 June will focus primarily on the situation in Ukraine, they are expected to address a wide range of issues, including social rights, artificial intelligence and health.

However, the intention to include language on the importance of preserving and ensuring effective access to safe and legal abortion and post-abortion care has was opposed by far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose country is currently holding the G7 presidency.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/italy-opposes-reference-to-safe-and-legal-abortion-in-g7-draft-communique/

12.06.2024

Abortion rights activists heckle Italy’s family minister at conference

By Angelo Amante
May 9, 2024

ROME (Reuters) - Protesters on Thursday heckled Italy's family minister over her critical position on abortion rights, forcing her to abandon a speech at a conference on reversing the country's declining birth rate.

When Eugenia Roccella -- a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party -- took the floor, activists booed and raised letters forming the sentence "I decide over my body."

Roccella initially tried to confront the protesters, but then decided to give up her planned speech.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pro-abortion-activists-heckle-italys-family-minister-conference-2024-05-09/

09.05.2024

Anti-abortion activists set to target women at clinics in Italy as new bill approved

Nearly two thirds of gynaecologists in Italy refuse to carry out abortions, according to government statistics

By Joshua Stein
April 27, 2024

Activists opposed to abortion in Italy are expected to ramp up their targeting of clinics after being “emboldened” by an amendment to the law. Pro-abortion activists fear the bill could endanger women across Italy, and lead to harassment as they try to access information and support.

Anti-abortion activists have routinely attended clinics and pressured women to abandon abortions in three separate Italian regions – Piedmont, Veneto and Lombardy – where the local law has already been changed to allow their presence, according to Elena Caruso, an expert in Italian abortion law and fellow at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Now, anti-abortion activists are worried that could spread to other regions.

Continued: https://inews.co.uk/news/world/anti-abortion-activists-target-women-clinics-italy-bill-approved-3027066

Italy passes law allowing pro-life groups access to abortion clinics

Opponents of the amendment question the wisdom of allowing medically unqualified groups access to women considering an abortion but the government counters the move is designed so prospective patients can be better informed.

By Euronews with AP
24/04/2024

Italy’s Senate has passed legislation which allows regions to permit groups “with a qualified experience supporting motherhood” to have access to women considering abortions at public clinics.

For the right-wing government, the amendment fulfils the original intent of the 1978 law legalising abortion, known as Law 194, which includes provisions to prevent the procedure and support motherhood.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/health/2024/04/24/italy-passes-law-allowing-pro-life-groups-access-to-abortion-clinics

24.04.2024