The office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denied claims that references to LGBTQ+ and abortion rights were removed from the final declaration of the ongoing 2024 G7 Summit in Puglia, Italy.
The G7’s final declaration in Japan last year included a reference to preserving the “gender identity and sexual orientation” of the LGBTQ population; this was not mentioned in the statement that was made public late on Friday.
According to Bloomberg, this year’s summit also omitted the word “abortion” from a broader commitment to “universal access to adequate, affordable, and quality health services for women, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.”
Following the headlines generated by the report, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s team clarified the situation. “The Bloomberg report claiming that references to LGBT rights might be removed from the final G7 communique is completely unfounded,” Meloni’s office stated. The statement continued, saying that the G7 Italian Presidency denies this version of events.
He Said, She Said
The French and the Italian dabbled into a he said, she said situation. The allegation arose from a dispute between Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron after Italy was accused of weakening a reference to guaranteeing access to “safe and legal” abortions in the G7’s final text, a clause previously agreed upon by G7 members in Japan.
On Thursday, Meloni’s office sources denied the reference’s removal, stating that the declaration was still under negotiation and that “everything included in the final document will result from the negotiations.”
Macron expressed his “regret” over the omission of the reference, telling reporters at the event that the French vision of gender equality is not universally shared, saying to an Italian journalist, “France has a vision of equality between women and men, but it’s not shared by all the political spectrum.”
In response, Meloni accused Macron of using the G7 for “electioneering,” referencing his call for a snap election after a surge by France’s far right in the European elections, according to reports in the Italian press.
Italy’s Political and Religious Tango
The striking down of passages about the concerns of the LGBTQ+ community has been associated with the involvement of Pope Francis, head of the Catholic church, since he and the Italian Prime Minister, belonging to the far-right government, have similar views regarding abortion and the queer community.
The pontiff’s image as a “liberal” and ally of the community was also questioned last month when he made controversial homophobic remarks using the term “frociaggine” while rejecting homosexual men into seminaries. Involving the pontiff in addressing the G7 communique clarifies Italy’s stance regarding abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
In this political milieu, politics is now entangled with religious beliefs. In Italy, the government is trying to curtail LGBTQ+ rights with the government’s 2023 ban on lesbian mothers from their children’s birth certificates as part of its crackdown on LGBTQ+ families. To the community’s relief, this year, the Italian court rejected the government’s anti-LGBTQ+ attempts.
Since Meloni’s ascension to power in October 2021, the cabinet passed a law wherein anti-abortion activists can enter abortion clinics. Access to safe abortion and women’s reproductive rights are increasingly in a state of fright due to a large number of gynecologists refusing to perform the abortion procedure.
After the bill was passed, several right-wing-led regions began funding pressure groups to infiltrate consultation clinics that provide women with certificates confirming their intention to terminate a pregnancy. Some areas, such as Marche, governed by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, have also limited access to the abortion pill.
