Camilla Crea

This essay discusses the issue of access to abortion in Italy, with particular attention to conscientious objection, evoked by medical personnel. The fundamental questions posed are: Does this purported conscientious objection to abortion genuinely stem from the narratives and dogmas of Catholicism? How far are these conservative narratives part of the nomos that has given—and perhaps still gives—form to abortion law in Italy and the involvement of its political institutions in recent decades?

This analysis adopts a mixed methodology to answer these questions, dovetailing historical, empirical, and normative arguments and specifically examining the evolution of the debate on conscientious objection within the Italian legal tradition. It also adopts a comparative perspective to critically deconstruct the internal trend in both law and politics vis-à-vis various other legal systems in Europe. The aim is to examine the processes of legitimization that have reshaped conscientious objection regarding abortion practices: what was initially an ‘exception’ provided for in Italian law has effectively become a general operational rule that functions outside the democratic circuit and disproportionately affects the rights of third parties, perpetuating outdated social constructs. In so doing, it stigmatizes women seeking abortions and healthcare professionals who do not evoke their right to conscientious objection.