Reproductive coercion as a result of restrictive abortion policies in Italy. The imposition of motherhood: a form of violence against women

As of September 2022, with the far right taking the helm of the Italian government, anti-abortionists are taking the opportunity to challenge the right to abortion and gaining more and more space. The discussion on the right to abortion is set in a context where its legitimacy is recognized based on the superiority of the foetus over the woman and in a country where the influence of Catholicism is particularly insistent. As an expression of this, the law that is supposed to regulate access to abortion does not fully guarantee it, representing the first among the many obstacles that women face. In essence, political positions, political support for anti-choice associations, logistical as well as legal limitations, and social stigma on abortion are an expression and consequence of the patriarchal culture that shackles women to the role of mother. In 2023, the state and society still pose real violence on women’s bodies by overriding their consent about their reproductive freedom, beginning with the denial of abortion.