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Emma Bonino, Italian Reformer Behind Abortion and Divorce Laws, Dies
Emma Bonino was an important Italian politician and campaigner.
She helped change laws so abortion and divorce became legal in Italy.
She began this work after experiencing an illegal abortion herself.
Bonino later served in Italy’s parliament and government.
She also worked for the European Commission and helped people affected by wars and disasters.
She supported human rights, women’s equality, and opposition to the death penalty.
She continued speaking publicly after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
Emma Bonino died at age 78, and Italian leaders remembered her public service.
Emma Bonino, a longtime Italian politician and human rights campaigner, has died at 78.
She helped lead campaigns that legalized abortion and divorce in Italy during the 1970s.
Bonino served as a lawmaker, European commissioner, and minister in several Italian governments.
She campaigned internationally on humanitarian issues, women’s rights, hunger, and opposition to the death penalty.
Political leaders including Giorgia Meloni paid tribute to Bonino despite their differing political views.
- Who
- Emma Bonino, an Italian politician, reform campaigner, and human rights advocate, died.
- What
- She died at age 78 after a political career spanning more than five decades.
- Where
- The articles identify Bonino as Italian and mention her home in Rome, but do not specify where she died.
- When
- The articles do not specify the date of her death.
- Why
- The cause of death is not stated.
Key facts
- Age at death
- 78
- Political movement
- Radical Party and later +Europa
- Major domestic reforms
- Campaigns contributing to the legalization of abortion and divorce in Italy
- Government roles
- Foreign minister, trade minister, and EU affairs minister
- European role
- European commissioner from 1995
- International causes
- Humanitarian assistance, women’s equality, hunger relief, and opposition to the death penalty
- Cancer diagnosis
- She announced a lung cancer diagnosis in 2015 and continued political activity
Quotes
Giorgia Meloni
Italy's conservative premier, who paid tribute to Bonino
“My passion is humanity. I've got roots, I've got a homeland, a family, but precisely all that allows me to be a citizen of the world.”
NDTV
“Many, too many. Human rights, world hunger, free scientific research ... Ten lives won't be enough.”
NDTV









