ABSTRACT
PIP: Abortion has been legal and publicly funded in Italy since 1978. However, unmarried women under 18 must obtain parental consent or written permission from their legal guardian or from a judge to undergo the operation. In this study an assessment is made on whether the recent law has had a particular impact upon the fertility of teenagers living in Trieste, a city of 250,000 inhabitants, located in northeast Italy. Data were obtained on 1st births among women aged 15-19 for the years 1977-81. 1st births were classified as: premaritally conceived, uncertain or postmaritally conceived. During the study period, the total number of births to Trieste residents fell from 1878 to 1326, a 29% decline. The number of out-of-wedlock births remained quite stable and the number of postmarital cenceptions fluctuated. Marital births resulting from premarital conception declined appreciable from 66% to 51%. It seem s likley that the most relevant factor accounting for the overall decline in teenage fertility is the availability of legal abortion. The very high legal abortion ratios for all women of reproductive age further confirms this hypothesis. The ratios are particularly high among younger teenagers, who had just over 2 abortions, an average, for every live birth in 1980 and 1981. The estimated age-specific abortion rates for woman aged 15-19 living in Trieste are very much higher than the 1981 rate for Italy as a whole. The historical and geographical nature of Trieste may, to some extent, help explain why Trieste women resort to abortion more frequently than other Italian women. When it was an important seaport, Trieste was an affluent city, but today most citizens view its decline as irreversible and consequently try to enjoy the present. Couples have only 1 child not expecting life to improve for the future generation. The trend also probably reflects the enhanced capability of young women to assume control over their reproductive lives. Voluntary interruption of pregnancy is sought by those who feel not yet ready to start a family or to marry the father.^ieng
