The Italian presidency of the G-7 has managed to eliminate from the joint declaration of the leaders the reference to abortion that was present in the final communiqué of the previous summit, that of Hiroshima in 2023, despite requests to keep it from France and the Union European. In the drafts prior to the final document this mention did appear. The document that will be formally approved this Friday, to which Morning Express has had access, is weaker in terms of rights: it does not explicitly include the commitment to guarantee “access to safe and legal abortion” that appeared in the text of the year past, and is limited to expressing the will to “promote reproductive health and rights for all, and advance maternal health, newborns, children and adolescents.” In another passage, the joint declaration of the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the EU “reiterates the commitments of the Hiroshima communiqué to universal access to quality, adequate and accessible healthcare for women , including sexual and reproductive health.” This is an indirect reference that avoids explicitly mentioning abortion.
For the Italian delegation, which this year chairs the G-7 group that brings together some of the most advanced democracies in the world, and for its prime minister, the far-right Giorgia Meloni, any mention of abortion has been a “red line.” Some delegations, such as the European, Canadian and French, tried to oppose and recover the mention of abortion, sources in the negotiation say. But the push was not enough. The combination of Italian resistance and the general will to reach a consensus declaration and not show ruptures, in a context of high international tension in which Western countries long to show unity, led to this conclusion. Yes, it was possible, after a diplomatic struggle, to remember the conclusions of Hiroshima, says a high-ranking European source. The statement is expected to be made public later in the day, but as early as Thursday, Meloni said leaders had reached an agreement.
In a group with journalists, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, referred to the disappearance of the reference to abortion in the following terms, on Thursday afternoon: “I regret it, you 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 its Constitution. They are not the same sensitivities that exist in this country today. 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. I regret it, but I respect it because it was the sovereign choice of the people. However, it is a position we will continue to defend vigorously.”
Meloni responded to Macron by accusing the French leader – who has called early legislative elections after the defeat of his far-right party in the European elections – of campaigning in the G-7. “I think it is deeply wrong to use an important forum like this to campaign,” the Italian launched.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, is expected to refer to the issue in his planned bilateral meeting 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. Meloni has come to power with a political platform of restrictive approaches to abortion. He has promised not to touch the current law in Italy, but he has a restrictive position that is evident in various actions by his government or his party to hinder the exercise of the right. This is, however, a central element of the campaign of Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, for re-election in the November presidential elections.
The right to abortion is a fundamental issue in the political struggle in Western democracies between far-right formations, often with ultra-conservative approaches, and forces of liberal inspiration. This time, the far-right approach won, which had the advantage of exercising the rotating presidency, with influence over the agenda and the statement that emerges from the meetings.
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