… the Constitutional Court quietly returns to conscientious objection in voluntary termination of pregnancy (Notes in the margins of ruling no. 42 filed on March 27, 2026)

Abstract

In this short essay, the author analyzes the main and most relevant contents of the Italian Constitutional Court's ruling no. 42/2026, which revisited conscientious objection, confirming its centrality in the positive discipline established by Law no. 194/1978. This ruling prohibits the application of any undue pressure aimed at changing professional beliefs and behaviors based on conscience. After exploring the most recent rulings in Italian administrative law that have defined, albeit partially, the scope of professional activities prohibited to conscientious objectors, the author emphasizes that the Constitutional Court did not deem it appropriate to delve into the detailed merits of the issues, leaving some key issues unresolved: whether conscientious objectors are precluded from drafting the emergency certificate and the report addressed to the guardianship judge in the case of women Minors. She did not do so, demonstrating her desire
to remain in that space of neutrality that would have been appropriate to abandon in order to provide an unequivocal answer to the many questions that still remain. She concludes by expressing the hope that the clauses guaranteeing conscientious objection in the field of voluntary termination of pregnancy (VTP) will finally be revisited, given the high number of objectors, with the introduction of alternative services that reinforce its authenticity. Without truth, conscience is debased, loses strength and vigor, and migrates into the fantasies produced by prevailing selfishness or widespread hypocrisy.