*No party leaders, no husbands, no dostors will decide-it must be our choice alone That was the demand of 20,000 pro-abortionists in Rome on 6 December.
are hardly less despicable. Last year six different proposals came up hefore Parliament, and now all the parties except the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI) are trying to agree on one bill. An additional factor, however, is the determination of the Socialist Party to drive a wedge between the Christian Democrats (the Catholic party and the Communists (who are engaged in a long-term project to win the Catholic vote via a coalition with the Punishable he Christian Democrats have lost a vote in committee by which abortion would have remained a criminal offence: but abortions outside of the very limited grounds allowed under the present proposals would still be punishable by fining the woman and imprisoning the docUnder pressure from the Socialists, and even moré perhaps because of the attitude of their own women members (as well as the general women's movement), the Communists voted against the Christian Demovent the Christian Democrat-Comm unist coalition. But unless agreement can be reached, the referendum will go ahead Nothing can now stop the movement towards free abortion in Italy. All the manoeuvres of the parliamentary parties, all the pathetic bleatings of the sick old men of the Vatican, cannot stop the women of Italy from fighting for and gaining a full contraception and abortion service. They will not be misled by the parliamentary games - on the contrary, the rise of the women's movement may lead to unprecedented splits within the traditional organisations. The major task of the women's movement now is to extend the campaign deep into the labour move ment, for it is working class woment who are the greatest sufferers from Italy's present barbarous laws WOMEN AND THE CUTS