Abortion Travel, Feminism, and ‘Becoming Legal’ in 1970s Italy
Abstract: In 1978, the Italian Parliament legalized access to abortion in a broad set of circumstances. This law is still in force. Before then, the feminist movement and other political groups related to the Radical Party (Partito Radicale, PR) contributed to create new and alternative routes to abortion access including through the creation of self-managed abortion groups and the organization of abortion travel abroad. Between 1972 and 1978, more than 28,000 women travelled from Italy to circumvent anti-abortion legislation in the country and have an abortion in England, where abortion had been legalized by the Abortion Act 1967.
Part of a major book project, this paper focuses on the feminist organization of abortion travel understood as part of a broader process of ‘becoming legal’ of abortion, which shaped both the feminist movement and the abortion law in 1971-1981 Italy.
Presenter
Dr. Elena Caruso
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo
Fellow, International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, University of Toronto
Elena is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo, Canada. She is also a fellow of the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, based at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Elena held visiting fellowships at the European University Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Melbourne Law School, Osgoode Hall Law School, Cardiff School of Law and Politics and, as Erasmus student, she conducted a semester of research at the University of Bonn Law School. Elena is currently working on her new project about how self-managed practices challenge the medico-legal paradigm in the regulation of abortion. At the same time, she is working on the dissemination of her previous research on the feminist movement and the legalisation of abortion in 1970s Italy.
Commentator
Dana Repka
LL.M. Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
Fellow, International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program
Dana Repka is an Argentinian lawyer and researcher specializing in sexual and reproductive health law. Currently, she is pursuing an LL.M. at the University of Toronto, with a concentration in Health Law, Ethics, and Policy. She is also a fellow at the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, based at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.
Dana’s work is grounded in feminist theory and focuses on comparative and empirical research on abortion access and healthcare providers' conscientious objection. She co-founded the Youth Network for the Right to Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean, a platform dedicated to amplifying young voices in reproductive rights advocacy across the region. Her professional experience includes coordinating strategic Amicus Curiae briefs for landmark cases in Latin America, training healthcare professionals in legal education, and co-authoring articles aimed at improving the quality and accessibility of abortion care.
Dana has been recognized for her academic excellence, receiving the University of Toronto Faculty of Law Fellowship and the Graduate Fellowships in Reproductive Rights and Women’s Rights for Developing Southern Countries. Her current research explores the impact of informed consent regulations on adolescents' access to sexual and reproductive health services.
