San Marino abortion referendum Sunday 26 September, the battle of San Marino women
The day when San Marino could revolutionize the way in which women can access voluntary termination of pregnancy is approaching. On Sunday 26 September, the citizens of the Titan are called to vote in the historic referendum on the decriminalization of abortion, and if the yes wins, for the first time in 150 years, San Marino women will have the possibility (with an adequate law) of independent pregnancy within the twelfth week of gestation, and even later, in case of life threatening for the woman or in case of anomalies and malformations of the fetus that would put her health at risk, without risking prison.
San Marino and abortion punished with prison
In San Marino, in fact, abortion is illegal and is punished with second degree imprisonment (from six months to three years) both for the woman who procures the abortion, and for those who participate in it or who procure it without your consent (to article 153). Article 154 instead regulates abortion “for reasons of honor”, which is punished with first degree imprisonment (from three months to one year), and which concerns the woman free from marriage. These laws date back to 1865, and have come or not unchanged until today, passing relatively “under the radar” given that the women of San Marino, a microstate wedged between the Marche and Emilia Romagna, in case of need have crossed the borders by turning to to nearby hospitals where Italian law is applied and not that of San Marino.
The fact that women have managed to somehow circumvent the penal code of San Marino does not change the reality of the facts: to date, the woman who resorts to voluntary termination of pregnancy in the territory risks prison. And as often happens, women have carried on a battle that has lasted for years to change things. It was the activists of the Union of San Marino Women, a feminist association born in the 70s, who collected the signatures necessary to propose the referendum, and they always have an information and awareness campaign to explain the importance of the referendum and the victory of the yes. .
The battle of the Union of San Marino Women
At the beginning of the year, the Union of San Marino Women had embarked on a path towards the legalization and decriminalization of abortion, deliberating on January 7 in favor of the referendum. In March 2021 the Guarantor College of San Marino had issued the admissibility ruling for the referendum question, and in May the signatures were delivered: the balance was 3,028 authenticated signatures and 251 signatures from residents and supporters.
“Abortion must be the last choice, but it must be safe, legal and accessible – explain the UDS activists – Remaining a criminal offense, abortion will not disappear, history proves it. No contraceptive is 100% effective, and women face unwanted pregnancies every day. Couples divorce, there is domestic and sexual violence, men sometimes disappear. Unexpected health problems or financial problems can arise. Anything can happen. When these things happen in a country where abortion is illegal, women will find ways to abort. Some will go abroad where abortion is legalized. Others less well-off and minors will try to take drugs to induce a miscarriage, they will try to do it on their own, they will look for illegal low-cost services, always available on demand. Others acquire the RU486 abortion pill on the black market, as is the case in Malta, where abortion is illegal. In 2021 clandestine abortions in Italy are still 10,000-13,000 a year, thanks to a system that allows too many objectors in hospitals. Women will always find a way to have an abortion. A woman is risking her life not to have a child, just as it is risking her life to have a child. There is no difference ”.
The referendum campaign started a few weeks ago, and saw on the one hand the Union of San Marino Women, committed to advancing their cause (and that of all women) with meetings, debates and posters, on the other the anti- abortion, which responded very similarly. There were moments of tension, but the UDS activists, now close to the first goal – the vote itself – did not give up. And they look ahead, illustrating in detail the popular initiative bill already presented in 2019.
What they want, they explain, is a law that “implements the prevention of unwanted pregnancies in the most effective and extensive way, as far as possible the use of voluntary termination of pregnancy”, with “easy and free access to the most modern female contraceptives and men, including emergency ones, free spiral, sex education in schools, information campaigns also for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases “, a law that provides for a precise regulation of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy declare the full cooperation of the class medical in the drafting of the text and that it provides for conscientious objection, as long as it does not hinder access to abortion, they have reintroduced clandestine abortion ”.
Because the San Marino referendum affects everyone
The yes campaign ended on Friday, and before an experience in electoral silence, the UDS wanted to take stock not of the months, but of the intense and complex years that led to September 26: “It was a rich moments of sharing with the citizens, even moving ones. We have collected the stories of women, couples and families left alone in a difficult moment in their lives. Silence, indifference, abandonment and hypocrisy do not benefit a modern, democratic and responsible country. With this Referendum we are trying to change things because the time has come, even if very late – they explain – Voluntary termination of pregnancy is a real phenomenon and only with management, knowledge, protection and prevention is it possible It welcomes women and couples and provides them with all the tools for a choice and responsible as citizens deserving of rights and not of criminalization. Jail is not an answer, and it certainly has not been an effective answer given that the data speak of an average of 100 abortions every 5 years. It is no longer possible to turn your head away. For us it is no longer acceptable ”.
In short, the mobilization of activists from San Marino made the difference. At least to give citizens a choice, and authorize them – women in the first place – to decide whether or not to change the status quo. And even if San Marino is inhabited by just over 33,000 people, the outcome of this referendum will contribute to making history, as already happened in Argentina, where the “feminist green tide” in December 2020 poured into the streets during the discussion and the vote in the Senate of the law to legalize abortion, celebrating its approval.