Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has responded angrily to reports of a riot over abortion at the G7 summit in her country. She stated at a press conference that there was no conflict over the issue because there was “nothing to argue about.”
During the summit, it was notable that the word “abortion” was not included in a joint statement. Leaders of the seven richest industrialized countries had spoken out in writing a year earlier in favor of “safe and legal” options to terminate pregnancies. This time the text stated that the countries confirm that they still support the statements they made at the time about health care for women.
That part of the text was said to have been the subject of considerable discussion behind the scenes. Insiders stated in the American newspaper The New York Times that the conservative hostess Meloni did not want the word “abortion” in the text. US President Joe Biden is said to have subsequently pushed back. For him, abortion is an important issue in the run-up to the November elections. He has strongly criticized a Supreme Court ruling that allows abortion rights to be restricted.
Meloni made it clear at her closing press conference that she thought reports about the issue were exaggerated. She indicated that it is common for wording in official statements to not be the same every time. According to the Prime Minister, reference is made to previous statements to prevent texts from becoming “unnecessarily repetitive”. “If there is already agreement on something, it does not need to be repeated verbatim.”