Abortion also ends up breaking the unity of the majority. In the Chamber, shortly before the approval of the Pnrr decree, an agenda of the Democratic Party which aims to protect the right to terminate a pregnancy in clinics is examined: the majority rejects it but 18 deputies abstain. Among these there are 15 members of the Northern League, including the group leader Riccardo Molinari, and an elected member of the Italian team, Paolo Emilio Russo. Thus, the snapshot of the vote highlights how the doubts about the Brothers of Italy's amendment to the Pnrr decree, which involves in the counseling centers the realities that support motherhood (the "pro-life" ones, denounce the opposition) have crept into the government coalition. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, meanwhile, speaks of "fake news" and accuses: "Whoever wants to change the 194 is the left, not us. We - she claims - only want to guarantee free choices".
"On ethical issues we left freedom of conscience and therefore there were those who followed the government's instructions and those who abstained", Molinari himself clarifies promptly. And my colleague Laura Ravetto remarks: "I believe that the last word always belongs to the woman and that 194 should not be touched. We can discuss improving communication in counseling centres", but "never" about "limiting the right to abortion. This was the content of the commitment - he quotes verbatim -: not to restrict women's right to have access to voluntary termination of pregnancy. I abstained because I could not vote against this commitment for separate parts" of premises and device. The executive had first asked for the Democrats' agenda to be set aside, but in the end reiterated the contrary opinion.
The Pro Vita & Famiglia association says it is "surprised" by the League's abstention on the "shameful" agenda of the Democratic Party and announces a national demonstration in Rome on 22 June. In Forza Italia the same reasoning of the 15 Northern League members guided the vote of Russo and, yesterday (on a similar agenda of the M5s) also of Deborah Bergamini. Not only. If in recent days the words of the Italian leader Antonio Tajani had been calibrated on tones of detached balance ("There is a law in Italy that certainly cannot be changed" and "there is no intention to do so"), the more the controversy, more Fratelli d'Italia claims the choice made. Which, just 24 hours ago, led to an international argument, with the distant back and forth between Meloni and the Spanish Minister for Equality, Ana Redondo. In the Chamber there are sparks between the Dems and the prime minister's party. "The government and the majority have thrown away the mask. But what harm have women done to you?", urges the Democrat Ilenia Malavasi. For FdI replies Maria Carolina Varchi" who points the finger at the "unfounded prejudice" present in the agenda of the democratic party towards "certain third sector associations, deemed capable of having a violent impact on women".
This amendment "allows the total application of the 194. If the only option is abortion, it is not freedom". "Now it's clear - the group leader of the Democratic Party Chiara Braga intervenes -. It wasn't a single hand that passed that law in the commission: the government sides with pro-life". Meanwhile, the Pnrr decree, accompanied by all the amendments passed in the commission, gets the green light from the Chamber of Deputies and passes to the Senate. Here, despite the opposition's hopes, the majority is unlikely to seriously split. Indeed, authoritative sources from Matteo Salvini's party assure that nothing will happen and the provision - which has now incorporated the FdI amendment - will pass smoothly. But, in the meantime, although it was only an agenda, a furrow has been dug in the majority on a very delicate topic such as abortion and women's self-determination.