Hear
BARI.- The Italian presidency of the G7, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, achieved remove any mention of abortion from the leaders’ joint statement, a topic that had been included in the final communiqué of the 2023 Hiroshima summit. This decision was made despite requests from France, the United States and the European Union for the reference to be maintained and highlighted persistent divisions among member countries on this issue.
The draft of the final declaration of the summit that was also attended by the Argentine president, Javier Milei, and accessed by the AFP agency is weaker in terms of rights: it does not explicitly include the commitment to guarantee the “access to safe and legal abortion” that appeared in last year’s text, and is limited to expressing the will of “promote reproductive health and rights for all, and advance maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health.”
United States, France and the European Union They wanted to maintain the same wording as that of the final declaration of the G7 summit in Hiroshima (Japan) in 2023, which guaranteed “access to safe and legal abortion and post-abortion care services.” But they finally gave up due to lack of agreement with the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, known for her anti-abortion stance. His government, in fact, recently approved a more than questioned measure by which pro-life groups can enter clinics where women obtain abortions. Voluntary termination of pregnancy has been legal in Italy since 1978; but, in fact, it is a practice that is often hindered since there are bureaucratic obstacles and the majority of doctors are conscientious objectors.
“We were defending what was agreed upon in Hiroshima, where the text was more explicit, but it was not possible to find an agreement”explained a senior European Union official on Friday.
“The important thing is that in the text let’s promote sexual and reproductive rights”he added.
As it had emerged, Italy’s request would not only have to do with the position of Meloni and his party, but, above all, with the presence of Pope Francis -the first time that a Pontiff personally attends a G7 summit-, who this Friday participates in a session on artificial intelligence with Milei and other guests.
The debates on this issue were intense, particularly between the French president Emmanuel Macron and Meloni.
Macron said he “regrets” the Italian position, while Meloni accused him of “campaigning using a valuable forum like the G7.” before the first round of the French early legislative elections, on June 30.
The French president addressed the disappearance of the abortion reference in a subsequent press conference: “I am sorry, they know France’s position. We do not have the same point of view. France has integrated this right of women to abortion, the freedom to dispose of her body, into her Constitution. “They are not the same sensitivities that exist in this country today”said.
“France, for its part, shares the vision of equality between women and men. It is not a vision that is shared across the political spectrum. lor I regret it, but I respect it because it has been the sovereign choice of the people. However, it is a position that we will continue to defend vigorously,” he added.
It is also expected that the president of the United States, Joe Bidenrefers to this issue in the bilateral meeting he has planned with Meloni. The issue of abortion rights is central to Biden’s policy. The sources consulted indicate that the Italian presidency raised a real red line on this issue.
AFP Agency and El País newspaper
THE NATION
