Emma Bonino, Italian politician who fought for abortion rights, dies aged 78

Emma Bonino, an Italian politician and activist, has died at the age of 78. Born on March 9, 1948, in Bra, Italy, Bonino rose to prominence as a leader of campaigns by the Radical Party that legalized abortion and divorce in the 1970s in heavily Roman Catholic Italy. She deliberately courted controversy to advance her causes, including social justice and gender equality. In 1974, she traveled to a clandestine clinic in Florence to terminate an unplanned pregnancy, which led to a campaign for the legalization of abortion that succeeded in 1978. Bonino's activism also included founding the death penalty watchdog Hands Off Cain and serving as a European commissioner for then-premier Silvio Berlusconi. She remained active in politics for over five decades, even after her party's political star faded, and was known for her sharp wit and cutting insights as a sought-after political pundit on Italian TV. Despite failing to become Italy's first female president in 1999, Bonino continued to advocate for human rights and social justice until her death.