G7 drops summit commitment to abortion access: draft statement

G7 leaders drop explicit abortion rights commitment, reiterate support for Ukraine, criticize China's industrial overcapacity in draft statement.

G7 leaders have dropped an explicit commitment to abortion rights in their final statement from a summit, according to a draft seen by AFP on June 14, after reports that hosts Italy were opposed.

Leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies had at a Japan summit last year committed to addressing “access to safe and legal abortion” — but that reference does not appear in the draft of this year’s statement.

Instead, it simply references the 2023 so-called Hiroshima statement.

“We reiterate our commitments in the Hiroshima leaders’ communique to universal access to adequate, affordable, and quality health services for women, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights for all,” the draft says.

The United States and France had both pushed back after reports that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was trying to water down the language on women’s rights.

French President Emmanuel Macron publicly expressed regret at Italy’s position on abortion, noting the French parliament’s vote earlier this year to enshrine the right in the constitution.

Ms. Meloni hit back by noting Macron was facing upcoming legislative elections, saying it was “profoundly wrong” to use a G7 summit for “campaigning”.