Bianca Belli

Jordan Ruyle

College Writing 109C

04/12/2017

Argument Paper

Abortion is a complex matter to be discussed, since it relates at the same time to law, ethics

and the conflict between individuality and State. As with anything that touches these three

subjects simultaneously, there will hardly ever be complete agreement, if only because it often

happens that decisions someone would make for themselves cannot be imposed on others. In

particular, when dealing with terminations of pregnancy, some of the most frequent objections

that arise are linked to either ignorance (in the sense of not being informed on the matter), a

tendency to confuse personal morals with national law or religious beliefs. As soon as it is

agreed that the only State that should be striven for is a democratic one, where no one is

discriminated based on their gender, sexual orientation, income, ethnicity and religious beliefs

and everyone is assisted so that they have the same opportunities in life, it becomes clear how

any decision on abortion is solely entitled to the person whose body belongs to. However,

unfortunately, this is often not the case (namely for Italy, among the others countries that still

get to be defined as 'modern'), causing the national law to be lacking the fundamental

elements that would provide safety and certainty to such a delicate procedure; in other words,

rights are not respected and having an abortion eventually becomes a hard, if not impossible,

and dangerous procedure, although it should be guaranteed to every citizen, as the law states.

Although still considered to be a modern and democratic nation, Italy is unfortunately a

fitting example for this kind of scenario. The situation concerning the termination of

pregnancy is in fact alarming: despite being legal in every part of the country and being thus
recognized as a citizen's right, having an abortion is often a difficult and overwhelming

burden. In fact, after the approval of a new Code of Conduct in 2006 that allowed moral

objection to abortion,, more and more gynecologists decided to stop providing such service.

The result is that women often have to look for a doctor in another province or, even worse,

another region, with consequential difficulties and increased wait time, that frequently worsen

the overall situation. Indeed, not only is an abortion better performed as soon as it is possible,

but also no citizen should have to wait several weeks before seeing one of their rights

recognized. For a matter that is as time-sensitive as a termination of pregnancy, this is even

more important.

For how trivial it may seem, the region in which citizens are born or reside does make a

difference in their lives. Among other issues such as transportation and infrastructure being

neglected and not improved, the poorest, less developed zones of the country also face more

problems health care-wise. When deciding to have an abortion, statistics prove how Italian

women who reside in the Southern parts of the country have to wait longer times and travel

miles out of their hometowns to see their rights recognized. Indeed, in some provinces such

services are not even offered and in many others the incredibly long wait-lists oblige women

who are seeking doctors available to provide them to travel to the opposite side of the country.

According to the Istat (National Institute of Statistics), during the course of 2012 over twenty

thousand women addressed medical structures present in other provinces, 40% of which had

to travel to a different region. Although the Ministry of Public Health declares that within

three weeks a large part of the women asking for an abortion obtains the service, it must be

noted how infernal and filled of uncertainty those weeks of wait must be: should it really be

that hard to see a right, present since 1978, recognized? Reality must be faced, and the data

show how hard it actually is: according to Laiga, the Free Italian Association of

Gynecologists, in 2017 only 59% of Italian hospitals provides abortions (thus the 41% not
being compliant with the law); in the hospitals of Jesi, Fano and Fermo the entire staff refuses

(as it is allowed to do) to provide interruptions of pregnancy; the Italian average of

conscientious objectors is 70%, while it is 10% in the UK and 7% in France; and in the entire

region of Molise there is only one doctor who still performs abortions.

As a matter of fact, the current state of the legislation on abortion perfectly summarizes

the condition of gender equality in Italy: rights are affirmed in black and white on the

Constitution, but they are hardly seen in everyday life. Three main factors often concur in

issues arising from conflicts between morals and law, as it appears to happen with abortion-

related problems in Italy too.

Ignorance, that is, the state of not being informed on the specifics of the law and how

said legislation works, is namely one of the most prominent factors. The Law 194, which

regulates abortion and how to access it in Italy, clearly states how the State guarantees the

right to an aware and conscientious procreation, recognizes the social value of maternity and

safeguards human life from its beginning and points out how abortion is not a means of

controlling the number of births. Furthermore, abortion is only permitted during the first 90

days of pregnancy, due to the high risk of health-related problems after the first trimester; it is

however allowed until the fifth month only when the health of the mother-to-be or of the fetus

is actually compromised (so-called therapeutic causes). The woman who decides to have an

abortion is given complete freedom, whatever may be the reason that brings her to such a

decision: most people in fact do not remember how it is not the task of the State to judge on a

moral base, but only to define the limits and the extents of the freedoms given. By stating how

the Law 194 safeguards human life from its beginning, it is implied that a three-months old

fetus is not yet human life, but only a possibility of it, thus decriminalizing abortion, which

was seen in oldest times as a real 'murder'. Overall, ignorance is very easy to fight: data, laws

and information are increasingly easier to access on the Internet and debates on such subjects
are held on a daily basis both on papers and on television; unfortunately, the hardest part of it

all is finding a mind that is open enough to be willing to listen and form an opinion of its own.

Religion is also very often brought up as a reason to restrict freedom, while it really

belongs to a different level. In a democratic society, State and Church should peacefully

coexist but be separate at the same time. It is more of a problem in countries like Italy where

the main Church, namely the Roman-Catholic one, resides on its territory. In fact, while no

politician would ever dream of forcing the Church to celebrate same-sex unions in churches

as it is now possible to do in city halls, bishops and sometimes the Pope himself have often

judged the work of the government or tried to influence their devotees' opinion on certain

laws by speaking publicly about it (namely, laws on divorce, abortion and keeping the

taxation favorable for Church-owned properties). Obviously, religious freedom is clearly

stated on the Constitution; however, the general concept of freedom applies to this specific

one too, that is, it ends where someone else's begins. In other words, personal views on

abortion may be influenced by what the Bible says about it; still, it cannot be demanded that

the State make laws based on what a citizen's personal religion says, however wide-spread it

may be in said nation.

Finally, any type of moral judgment should be withheld. The reason is quite simple: no

one is entitled to tell anyone what to do of their lives and bodies other than themselves. This

is included in the general description of freedom's limits and extensions given above. It is

especially offensive when it is a man, or a group of men (as often happens in law-making),

who try to dictate over women's freedoms and rights, as it would be considered offensive the

contrary; an abortion is first of all a decision belonging to the woman, even before than the

couple, since it directly affects her body and, normally, her life. This idea is not revolutionary

at all and is in fact affirmed in the above mentioned Law 194, that states how the father of

the fetus cannot intervene for what concerns the interruption of pregnancy and has no right
over the fetus. He can be present during visits and at the medical structure only if the mother-

to-be agrees.

Overall, it is safe to say that an abortion can never be a pleasant experience, whatever the

reason behind it may be. It is then a duty of the State to provide a safe, certain and stress-free

service to guarantee this right. The first step to make this happen is prevention: sex education

classes should be held in every middle and high school of the country and the use of condoms

should be subsidized by fighting the moral stigma that still lies around sex among young and

unmarried people. Then, conscientious objectors in medical schools should be advised to

choose a field that differs from Gynecology if they are already aware of their beliefs.

Moreover, hospitals could begin to hire only gynecologists and anesthetists who are willing to

provide abortions, for the reason behind objections is not always of a moral nature, but can

also be induced by the less workload that, obviously, they would find themselves with (since

abortions must sometimes be performed even at night or during holidays). Lastly, the woman

should be assisted during every step of the abortion by reliable doctors and psychologists, if

need be, and should not be forced to look for medical assistance outside of her province.

References and bibliography

Law 22nd May 1978 n. 194. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2017, from http://www.laiga.it/

United Nations Population Division | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.).

Retrieved April 11, 2017, from

http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/policy/abortionPoliciesAndR

eproductiveHealth.shtml

Havrnek, F. (1979, April). [Abortion law in Italy]. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/445601