45 Years of Law 194 in Italy. How Does Regional Politics Impact on the Right to Access Abortion?

Law 194 introduced the right to abortion in Italy in 1978. Since then, the literature reports a persistent ineffectiveness of the right to abortion throughout the country. This research addresses the relevance that regional political actors attach to this issue and the position they take, investigating a sample of eight Italian regions over 10 years, from 2013 to 2023. The analysis is based on an original data collection, including legislative and oversight activities on the issue of abortion in the selected regions. The results show that the issue is of little relevance to Italian parties, although there are some exceptions, and that, in terms of orientation, the center-left and the Five Star Movement generally adopt a pro-abortion stance, while the center-right parties tend to support anti-abortion positions. Analyzing the narrative behind these positions, the results also highlight the variety of arguments used by anti-abortionists to support their position.