TERMOLI. The PD council group in the Molise Region, composed of Alessandra Salvatore, Micaela Fanelli and Vittorino Facciolla, presented a motion to protect law 194/1978 “rules for the social protection of maternity and on the voluntary termination of pregnancy”, defense of family counseling and refusal of the involvement of pro-life subjects.
«In Italy, law 194/1978 “Regulations for the social protection of maternity and on the voluntary interruption of pregnancy”, establishes in a balanced way the right of access and the methods of safe recourse for every woman to IGV, voluntary interruption of pregnancy , both at public facilities of the National Health Service and at private facilities affiliated and authorized by the Regions;
– law 194 still represents the enforceable right to women’s health, their right to life after the dark times of illegal and clandestine abortion and the inhumanity of practices that have caused irreversible damage and the death of many women, this in recognition of the social value of motherhood and of the informed, conscious and, on this basis, free procreative choice of girls and women;
– a lot of progress has been made since 1978 and in the Italian regions the creation of family counseling centers and the prevention services required by law have ensured greater widespread well-being, reproductive health and awareness, safety and a constantly decreasing trend in the use of IVG;
– according to the latest available data relating to 2021 published in the report of the Minister of Health on the implementation of law 194, 42.8% of the issuing of the IVG certified document takes place in the Consultations compared to 34.9% which takes place at the Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The Counselors have a fundamental role in assisting women who decide to resort to the IVG because the professionalism within them: informs the woman about her rights and the social, health and welfare services offered by the structures operating in the area; inform women about the rules that protect pregnant women in the workplace; contribute to understanding the causes that could lead a woman to terminate her pregnancy; provide the woman who has decided to terminate the pregnancy with the document/certificate necessary for the operation or indicate other structures where it can be obtained;
– provide the woman with the necessary information regarding the territorial structures where to obtain the intervention and possibly on the techniques used;
– public family counseling centers are very important local health centers and the strengthening of their centrality corresponds to a widespread demand, in the direction of making services increasingly accessible and universalistic for the reproductive and sexual health of women, girls and all people.
The Government has raised the question of trust on the bill for the conversion, with amendments, of the decree of 2 March 2024, n. 19, containing further urgent provisions for the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), containing a measure which provides that the Regions organize consultancy services within the scope of Mission 6, Component 1, of the PNRR in order to “take advantage of , without new or greater burdens on public finances, including the involvement of third sector entities who have qualified experience in supporting maternity”;
In the DDL itself and more generally in the majority and government provisions, the choice of maternity is not actually supported, so much so that for example among the de-financed measures there are those concerning nursery and nursery school, with cuts on the measure M4C1 of the 900 million euro Plan, in a context of constant underfunding of community and welfare services to support mothers and fathers;
– the introduction by law of third parties with respect to consultancy professionals, expressly “supporting maternity” or pro-life and anti-abortion, represents both in substance and method the desire to upset the balance established by current legislation;
– the majority chose the path of an amendment to the text, removed from any institutional and democratic debate, to force the regulatory system of social and health services regarding procreative choices and the right to abortion;
– this forcing is unprecedented in parliamentary legislation but reflects the same attempts periodically made, in the Regions and legislative Assemblies where the right has the majority, to override female subjectivity when it comes to terminating a pregnancy, by placing obstacles in the path already painful for those considering abortion.
Last March 4th, the French Senate approved a bill which inserts into Article 34 of the Constitution “the freedom guaranteed to women to terminate a pregnancy” and the European Parliament approved on the following April 11th a resolution to insert into the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union sexual and reproductive health care and the right to free, safe and legal abortion.
There is a need to strengthen family counseling centers taking into account the fundamental role they play in protecting the health and psychophysical well-being of women throughout their life cycle;
– we cannot retreat from the progress made such as, for example, the 2020 Guidelines on the voluntary termination of pharmacological pregnancy of the Ministry of Health and on the concrete possibility of reducing hospitalization through adequately equipped public outpatient solutions, functionally connected to the hospital and authorized by the Regions, as well as at clinics or in day hospitals;
– once again, 46 years after the entry into force of 194, an attempt is being made to attack the heart of the law, namely the right to self-determination of women and to the informed and conscious choice of motherhood;
– law 194 already provides for the care of users by specialists to accompany them in the choice of IGV and the presence of pro-life third sector associations would not only burden their path but could compromise the confidentiality that this choice requires.
In Molise,
– there is only one facility where IVG is practiced and the rate of conscientious objectors is 92.3 percent among gynecologists, 75 percent among anesthetists and 90.9 percent among non-medical staff doctor. Overall, the region ranks first in objection rate;
– the hub of public clinics, fewer and fewer and with fewer and fewer funds available, yet they are the main point of reference for those requesting voluntary termination of pregnancy, they are characterized by a lack of staff and limited funding.”
In the motion, the President of the Region and the Regional Council undertake to:
– express one’s dissent in the competent bodies, starting with the Conference of the Regions, with respect to the rule included in the decree of 2 March 2024, n. 19, containing further urgent provisions for the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR);
– not to exercise the option provided therein regarding the Consultative Services or that “the Regions can also avail themselves, without new or greater burdens on public finances, of the involvement of third sector entities who have qualified experience in maternity support”especially in consideration of the risks of violation of privacy, confidentiality and respect for women’s rights pursuant to law 194 and the secular nature of the public service;
– strengthen, despite the lack of transfers and state underfunding, the investment commitment in family clinics as structures that represent the offices responsible for guaranteeing the protection of women’s health in a context of freedom and autonomy, also implementing the presence of doctors no objectors in Molise.
