Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1085429
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 FEBRUARY 2019 NEWS abortion services – delivered aboard a ship on the high seas – the pro-life lobby rallied sup- porters outside the Osborne Hotel where Gomperts was de- livering a public address. But the connectivity and con- fidentiality of the internet and the affordability of air travel has changed things. Offering information through the ASN helpline, website, or by email, ASN works with in several EU countries, and where neces- sary, provides financial help towards the cost of travelling from the home country and paying privately to access a safe, legal abortion. Clarke started ASN nine years ago, on the basis that not being able to afford an abortion shouldn't be the only reason for a person to become a parent. In its first year, ASN had 89 indi- viduals call their helpline – in 2018 they had 800 individuals reach out for help. "What brought me to this work, was finding out that they were women in America, many of whom already had at least one child, who wanted to have an abortion but weren't able to afford it… so they'd start rais- ing the money, only to find that the further along their pregnancy got the more expen- sive the abortion would get and that's when people would do really desperate things." She said the cases she has seen of women who had reached breaking point "would turn people's hair grey." "You can't even begin to im- agine. There was a woman who had three kids, she'd never done drugs a day in her life and she went out and bought hero- in because she hoped the shock to her system would cause a miscarriage and then there was a woman who didn't know her teenage daughter was pregnant until she found poison under- neath her bed." Clarke explained that ASN will also be offering a new ser- vice in family planning: "In Ireland while they didn't have abortion, they at least had fam- ily planning." To provide this, ASN has teamed up with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, to enable women in Malta and Gibraltar to call them on the phone and have a counselling session with somebody who will give them factual infor- mation about their options – pregnancy, adoption or abor- tion. "We will also be offering for people under ten weeks pregnant, if they wish, infor- mation for the reputable pro- viders for safe but illegal early abortion pills," she said. Clarke emphasised that ASN isn't trying to influence any- one's decision. "A lot of the time, the clients that contact us in a panic are soothed after speaking to pro- fessionals and decide to carry on with the pregnancy. How- ever other times, people con- tact us and have said: no I've thought about it, I've done all the maths, and I just can't af- ford to have a baby, or another baby right now." She said being a parent is a big deal. "And it shouldn't just be because you had a broken condom, or a lapse in judge- ment, or were the victim of a sexual assault, and don't have 500 pounds in the bank." Clarke reiterated that ASN was not interested in getting involved in the political situa- tion on the ground. "If ASN ex- panding helped organisations in Malta fighting for abor- tion rights, by making people aware of the reality that the law doesn't stop them… then that could only be a good thing. "We came because Maltese people over the years have reached out to us… we came because they asked for our help. It's a false assumption, when people say: well I don't know anyone who's had an abortion. Everybody knows somebody who's had an abor- tion." inescapable reality "We came because Maltese people over the years have reached out to us… we came because they asked for our help" Why an abortion information service is protected by the human rights convention. Kurt Sansone takes a quick look at the issue at stake What is Abortion Support Network? It is an organisation that provides information on abortion services and travel arrangements to reach clinics in several EU countries. In some cases, it also financially assists women who want to get an abortion. Has it opened a clinic in Malta? No. What ASN has done is extend its service to Maltese people through its website, email and helpline. Why Malta? Abortion is illegal in Malta with no exception. It is the only country in Europe where abortion is completely against the law. ASN wants to provide information on the least expensive method of abortion and travel to England, Netherlands and Spain. It also wants to provide confidential telephone medical consultation or pregnancy options counselling sessions provided by British Pregnancy Advisory Service. If abortion is illegal in Malta, aren't ASN breaking the law? No. ASN does not carry out abortions and most definitely will not be carrying out any abortions in Malta. They are simply offering an information service and helping women travel to abortion clinics in European countries where the practice is legal. Doesn't ASN's information service qualify as aiding and abetting abortion, making it illegal? While some have argued that ASN's actions are criminal in nature, freedom of expression as outlined in Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights guarantees any person's right to not only impart but also receive information. Malta is a party to the convention and this right is sanctioned in the Constitution. ASN has a right to disseminate information. But Maltese women also have a right to receive information about abortion services, more so when these are legal in other countries that are party to the human rights convention. Is there a precedent? There is a landmark decision by the European Court of Human Rights from 1992, involving two counselling clinics in Ireland that offered advice on abortion options in the UK. One of the clinics also made travel arrangements for their clients. Abortion was illegal in Ireland at the time. The Irish Supreme court had issued an injunction on the clinics, deeming their information service as being in breach of Ireland's constitutional ban on abortion. The clinics – Open Door and Dublin Well Woman – took the matter to the ECHR in Strasbourg, claiming that the order breached their right to impart information as outlined in Article 10. Clients of the clinics also joined the case, insisting their right to receive information was breached. The clinics and the patients won the case. What did the ECHR rule? The court concluded that the restraint imposed on the applicants from receiving or imparting information was disproportionate and breached their freedom of expression. How does this apply to Malta? Malta is a party to the human rights convention and any decision by the Strasbourg court has a bearing on how Maltese courts interpret the law domestically. Furthermore, there is no law criminalising the dissemination of information on abortion. The right to impart and receive information on abortion...