womel to have an decisively defeated in a referendum on Sunday 17 May.
Approximately 70 per cent of the voters rejected *Movement for Life lobby call trom ine catRon waCI would have restricted abortion to those women who could prove their wds danger if their pregnancy was not terminated.
At the same time a proposal to radicalise the law to allow women complete freedom of choice on aDornol was also heavily defeated The present law in Italy gives women over 18 the right to ask for an abortion within the first days of pregnancy if there is a threat to health.
An abortion may also be lustitied for social anc economic reasons, in the All photos: GM COOKSON (Socialist Challenge) AT ATTEMPT to abolish the limited right of abortion in Italy was case of rape or if there is a danger that the child may be born deformed The size of the majority in favour of rejecting a repeal of these laws suprised many commentators.
The CaLno ‹nurea. even the Pope himself, had Intervenea in tne relerendum campaign saying that the repeal movement was a 'holy The political parties supporting repeal the Christian Democrats and the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement had tried to use the attempted assassination of the Pope to bolster their cause.
Just hours before the VOLE was held Gerardo Bianco, the chief whip for the Christian Democrats in occupation Raghib Ahsan, a worker from Rover Solihull, told the rally of the struggle of black workers Soviet oppositionist, Pyotr Egides Dallarlichl said that the defenders of the law had cited and brought about climate •I vOICHCe which had led to the attempted assassination In the event such smears had no effect. Ever districts in southern Italy, wher( the alli" avullo. vote had been expected to be the biggest, showed comfortable majorities against repeal Enrico Berlinguer, scurela" of the Italian Communist Party, welcomed the referendum results by saying that Italian womer 'the real winners This is only partially the defeat of the right to choose amend. hilll will be : a bitter blow OU UKR Italian women forced to have il legal doorons Nevertheless, in the wake of the shooting of the Pope and the heightened emotions which followed it, the defeat 'Movement for Life' cam paign must have brought huge sighs of relief from many Italian women. Phil Penning reported from the Laurence Scott