THEThe right to IVG, the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, in Italy is guaranteed by law 194 of 1978. Yet, in 2025, access this right remains a path to obstacles, fragmented, unequal. The third annual report of doctors in the world, presented yesterday in the Chamber of Deputies, on the occasion of the International day for safe abortion. The title is already a complaint: “abortion without numbers. The absence of data as a policy of deterrence and cause of inequality”. But the document is not limited to the figures: It also collects direct testimoniesexperienced experiences, voices that rarely find space in the public debate.
There International day for free and safe abortion and the data that are not there
It is important to know that, every year, the Ministry of Health is required to present a report on the implementation of Law 194. It happens, however, that The February deadline has not been respected for decades: in 2024, for example, the document was published only in December and reported still at 2022 and partial information: aggregate numbers, difficult to read, often useless to really understand what happens in the territories. In short, the IVG, according to the report, remains out of the official radars. An information blackout that hinders people aware of people and prevents the quality of services from evaluating. As Elisa Visconti points out, director of Medici del Mondo Italia, “without access to clear information, the right to health and choice remain only on paper. And this, rather than a forgetfulness, is a political choice ».
The maps from the bottom to help
Journalists, activists, associations have thought about the institutional void. The “Never Data” projectfor example, reconstructed a map of IVG services through hundreds of requests for civic access. The results are desolate: Many regions have not provided data or they transmitted them in unusable formats. There rejected objection mapon the other hand, which contributes to the project, collects direct testimonies and reports and, from there, the testimonies published in the report arrive.
The 2025 report of doctors in the world denounces a system that does not guarantee equity or transparency (Credits Michele Lapini)
Veneto, Sardinia and Molise: the regions that are missing from the appeal
The report dedicates a three -territories focus: Veneto, Sardinia and Molisetelling a completely inadequate scenario. In Venetothe objection rate is 66.6%, with 86% peaks in Venice e The network of consultors is among the most lacking in Italy: one venue for every 50,000 residents. In Sardinia82.5% of the IVGs take place within 14 days of the request, but in some areas over half of the people must move to other areas. 20.9% of abortions still take place by scrapinga percentage much higher than the national average. In Molise, The objection rate between gynecologists is 90.9%. Access to IVG is guaranteed only in two hospitals, with the same medical team that moves between the structures.
A campaign to change the approach to abortion
In this context, the campaign is inserted “Abortion without hospitalization” of the Luca Coscioni Associationwhich this weekend, from today until Sunday 28, will bring information tables to 30 Italian cities. The goal is clear: make pharmacological abortion really accessible in the consultancy or polyculatoryallowing women to take the second drug, the Misoprostolo, at home, as required by the Ministerial Guidelines of 2020. Despite being a safe practice and effectiveIndeed, Only two regions, Lazio and Emilia-Romagna, apply it correctly. Not only that, because the costs also change and a lot: the outpatient procedure, in Lazio, costs 75 euros. In Veneto, however, where pharmacological abortion is managed in hospital with hospitalization, The refund can reach over 6,000 euros. A great difference. “Waking resources is unacceptable, as well as denying women the right to choose,” said Filomena Gallo, secretary of the association.
Abortion: a unequal right
According to the Ministry’s data, in 2022 only 52% of the IVGs were carried out with the pharmacological procedure, against 79% in France and 90% in the Scandinavian countries. Only three regions, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Lazio, provide for the administration of RU486 in the consultorsas indicated by the Ministerial Guidelines of 2020. Yet, the pharmacological method is less invasive and involves significant savings for the health system. But the problem is not just technical. As Medici del Mondo writes, «The inadequate availability of information is a political problem, more than technical». And the consequences are concrete: territorial inequalities, bureaucratic obstacles, fragmented paths.
A question of public health
Every year, in the world, 39,000 women die due to unsafe abortions. The World Health Organization says it clearly: to guarantee accurate information, is the first step in ensuring safe abortions. In Italy, we are still far from this goal. Doctors of the world reiterates it: L‘free and safe abortion is an emergency of public health. And to make it really accessible, data, transparency, investments are needed.