Lazio Governor and ruling
Democratic Party (PD) leader Nicola Zingaretti on Monday tweeted
that the "only uncivil choice is to question women's rights"
after opposition right-wing League leader Matteo Salvini said
abortion should not be a "remedy" to an "uncivil lifestyle".
Zingaretti's statements as he announced a visit to the
women's rights association Casa Internazionale delle Donne in
Rome came after Salvini, an ex-deputy premier and interior
minister, said: "We have heard that some women, neither from
Rome nor from Milan, have gone for the sixth time to an ER in
Milan for an abortion".
"It is neither my duty nor that of the State to give moral
lessons, it is right for a woman to choose for herself and her
life, but you can't go as far as taking the ER as the solution
for an uncivil lifestyle", Salvini said during a rally in Rome.
"Someone has taken the emergency room as a healthcare cash
machine to do her business without paying a lira", he said,
referring to the Italian national currency before the euro.
"The third time you arrive, you pay".
Salvini, who makes no secret of his Catholic faith and
brandishes religious symbols at rallies, doubled down on his
controversial comments on Monday.
"Abortion is not a contraceptive system", he said.
Salvini's comments stirred ire from feminists and women MPs,
especially on the centre left.
The League leader makes public profession of a deeply
Catholic religious faith.
He has espoused a nationalist, anti-migrant and tough on
crime stance that has propelled the League to top place in the
national poll standings.
Salvini was in an all-populist government until last July
with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S).
He pulled the plug on the alliance hoping to convert his poll
standings into a snap election win.
His election bid was foiled when the M5S teamed up with their
long-time foes, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).
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