Former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini called women doing abortions in 2020 as “uncivilised” during a party rally.

Referring to women who were undergoing repeated abortions in public hospitals (which is permitted under Italian law), Salvini stressed: “It is right for women to make free choices about their lives. But you can’t find the emergency department as a solution to an uncivilised lifestyle. ”

Salvini continued by saying: “Nurses of the emergency departments of Milan and Rome have reported that there are women who had been admitted for pregnancy terminations for the sixth time. It is not my job to judge, it is fair to the woman to choose, but the first aid may not be the solution for uncivilised lifestyles in 2020”.

His statements prompted a series of reactions from various politicians who condemned his positions as an attack on women’s rights and freedom of choice.