L’antiabortismo come battaglia identitaria: la destra radicale e il corpo delle donne

From Poland to the United States, from Brazil to Italy, the chronicle of recent years has documented the multiplication of efforts by conservative parties and movements, particularly those belonging to what is termed the “populist radical right”, to restrict, or even eliminate, the legal possibility of women’s access to voluntary and therapeutic abortion. This essay intends to show, firstly, how anti-abortionism represents an essential component of the conservative doctrine on family and sexuality, which in turn constitutes a pillar of this right-wing identity politics. Secondly, it aims to highlight, alongside aspects that are typical of traditional conservatism, the use of new discursive and political strategies designed to present opposition to abortion as compatible with the main values of democratic-liberal systems: human rights, equal freedom, and solidarity. Finally, by deconstructing these strategies, and showing their connection to an exclusivist interpretation of “the people” and a hierarchical view of society, the essay comes to describe the ideology of the populist radical right as anti-emancipatory and anti-egalitarian – therefore, ultimately, anti-democratic.