Abortion became the unexpected main topic of the G7 meeting. The exclusion of this word in the final declaration of the summit caused a public confrontation between the president of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, and her French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron who was in favor of including a mention describing it as a fundamental right. Finally, the final text avoids the term, but in exchange includes support for the objectives of the communiqué of the group of the big seven last year in Hiroshima, Japan, among which was "access to safe and legal abortion and care postabortion."

The word "abortion" is one of the critical issues for the Meloni Executive, to which was added the presence of Pope Francis at the meeting, which is why they considered the inclusion of the term in these circumstances especially in bad taste. According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture, declared that "with Pope Francis in the G7, I do not know if it was appropriate to mention abortion."

Commitment to "promote reproductive health and rights"

Following the negotiations, the Big Seven simply noted their commitment to "promoting reproductive health and rights for all, and boosting the maternal health of young children and adolescents." These lines, according to Italian diplomatic sources, implicitly include the Hiroshima declaration. "It is clear - add the same sources - that when a new statement is made, what has already been made is not copied."

What would have been one of the sotto voice diplomatic negotiations of each of these meetings was aired by a visibly upset Macron before the meeting's gala dinner. The French president took advantage of the presence of journalists for his statement: "France has included in its Constitution the right of women to have an abortion and the freedom to control their own body. France has a vision of equality between women and men, but it is not a vision shared across the political spectrum. You don't have the same sensitivity in your country [Italia]. I'm sorry."

Meloni criticizes that Macron and Biden wanted to campaign with abortion in the G7

Far from being intimidated, Meloni was quick to respond to her counterpart also in public: "I think it is deeply incorrect, in difficult times like these, to campaign for an election using a precious forum like the G7." Implicit in her statements was a reminder of the disaster suffered by the French president in the last European elections that led him to call elections in his country.

The Biden Administration aligned itself with the Frenchman, also with an electoralist reek after having put abortion at the center of the electoral campaign for Biden's re-election in November: "President Biden deeply wanted that, at the very least, we needed to have words in the final declaration that referenced what we did in Hiroshima on women's reproductive health and rights. The final declaration will reiterate the commitment made in Hiroshima."