Abstract

In this text I examine the case of the dioxin pollution caused by the ICMESA factory in Seveso in 1976 and the consequent debate on whether women in contaminated areas should be allowed to have abortions. This debate, in fact, highlights the link between the environment and women’s bodies, which are affected by both ecological disasters and public policies. Moreover, the debate on abortion that arose after the Seveso disaster shows two different tendencies – one in favor of the right to abortion and the other against – both of which intervene ignoring the possibility of self-determination for the women involved. In this sense, the Seveso case can be taken as a paradigm for understanding the abortion debate within a broader context that takes into account both the environment and individual bodies and their voices