by Barbara DiChiara
The ratification of the Cpr, which leapt into all the newspapers due to its historic significance for our country, naturally unleashed the ballet of comments from the majority, the opposition, scientific societies and associations, which expressed, as expected, discordant opinions
24 APR –
Since the AIFA Price and Reimbursement Committee approved free hormonal contraception in Italy on Friday evening, with a decision of historic significance, which jumped at the opening of all Italian websites and newspapers also due to its major political implications, the Rumors for and against continued throughout the weekend. Voices of sector operators, who generally welcomed the regulatory body’s go-ahead positively, however giving their own technical opinions on the operational implications of the decision; voices of associations and political figures divided between the majority (critical) and the opposition (enthusiastic).
Let’s start with the carousel of deputies and senators who have expressed their views on the issue: D’Elia, Boldrini, Moretti, Bonafoni and other exponents of the PD they praised AIFA for the long-awaited change in favor of women (and already undertaken by some Regions) and which represents an important step forward for the protection of sexual and reproductive health. A “growth of civilization” and “a new focus on women’s sexual health“: according to the president of Bioethics consultation, Maurizio Mori, this represents the AIFA decision. “Thanks to free and safe contraception, sexuality falls even more under human control, and is removed from the presumed intrinsic dynamisms that have governed reproduction for millennia,” he observes.
The decision was also welcomed by the president of the National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists (Phnomceo), Filippo Anelli: the measure, he observed, “makes women equal in terms of health” and “allows favoring the weakest sections of the population”. It is clear, he added, that “the obligation of a doctor’s prescription remains”.
Lavinia Mennuni, Senator of Fdi, instead asks for “a step back” from the Agency, as “we have a priority and that is that every available resource of the State should be aimed at promoting the birth rate and supporting the family”. For the Moigewith this move Aifa “discriminates against those who have children”, while for Filomena Gallo of the Coscioni association, the Agency affirmed “the principle of universality and equality on which our entire national health system should be based”.
Luana Zanella, group leader of Green and Left Alliance to the House, he warns: “Next week the Aifa board will be called to ratify the decision to make the contraceptive pill free for all women. Of course we women don’t expect any reverse, we’re not joking. Since members of the right have gone so far as to argue that the initiative contrasts the growth in the birth rate, let us remember that motherhood is a voluntary choice of women”. In reality, the decision to place the final ‘sticker’ on this issue (not taken for granted) could be postponed to Board of May.
Operationally, as we said, there are those like the SIGO Federation (Italian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics), highlighted the need for some clarifications: “Thanking again to Aifa for making the problem of contraception central in Italy, we hope that: all contraceptives, both daily and depot, are made free paid by the NHS, in order to allow the choice of the most suitable contraceptive for each individual woman; that the sale of the contraceptive always takes place on medical prescription, in order to be able to choose the most suitable contraceptive for each individual woman; that an information and training campaign on “responsible sexuality” be implemented; that consultancy structures be implemented and public family planning clinics made free of charge so that women can easily find a specialist ready to advise them on the most suitable contraceptive for them; that there are possibilities of long acting contraception to be offered, at the expense of the NHS, to women in the same session in which they undergo IVG surgery”.
For Mario Puiatti, president AIED, “is a back to the future, which we are very happy with. In the sense that until 1993, or up to thirty years ago, contraception was already free, and this has also contributed to its awareness and diffusion among Italian women. With the current decision by AIFA, confidence in the safety of a drug used for decades by millions of women is restored, but above all, contraception is restored to its primary role in protecting the health and well-being of women and girls.
Now it is important to enhance the role of consultants, who must be ready to assist women and especially adolescents who want to use oral contraception. This is an opportunity to activate correct information and contribute to a greater awareness of Italians on sexual and reproductive health“. For Annamaria Colao, president of Italian Society of Endocrinology, the free contraceptive pill “is an extraordinary possibility for young people. An opportunity to help them have a conscious sexuality by drastically reducing the number of abortions”. This “is a topic with a strong social impact. Having the possibility of free contraception will encourage its use with a major impact on unwanted pregnancies”, adds Colao, however, underlining the importance “of always consulting with the family doctor, the gynecologist or endocrinologist before using oestrogen-progestogens”.
Barbara DiChiara
April 24, 2023
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