The “architecture of distancing”: a mode of abortion governance illustrated by the Italian case

TL;DR

This paper introduces the concept of an 'architecture of distancing' to explain how legal abortion rights can be undermined through restrictive practices, using Italy as an example.

Contribution

The paper introduces the novel concept of 'architecture of distancing' to analyze how reproductive rights are constrained despite legal recognition.

Findings

Italy's legal framework for abortion includes mechanisms that limit access through procedural barriers and conscientious objection.

Obstacles to abortion access are often built into legal systems, not just implementation failures.

The concept highlights how reproductive governance can restrict rights without outright prohibition.

Abstract

This commentary introduces the concept of an “architecture of distancing” to describe a mode of reproductive governance that preserves the legal recognition of abortion while constraining the conditions necessary for exercising this right. Using Italy as a paradigmatic case, it illustrates how the law has, from its inception, embedded mechanisms that maintain formal legality yet distance individuals from access – through strict procedural requirements, institutionalised conscientious objection, and the integration of anti-abortion groups into public services. The Italian case demonstrates that obstacles to abortion access are often not mere implementation failures, but features built within even ostensibly liberal legal frameworks, thereby helping illuminate contexts in which abortion is “legal but inaccessible”. More broadly, the concept offers a lens for capturing contemporary forms of reproductive governance that restrict without prohibiting. As there is no architecture without architects, the architecture of distancing draws attention to the political, institutional, and social arrangements that sustain these dynamics and underscores the importance of prioritising the material realisation of reproductive rights over their symbolic recognition.