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MALTATODAY 29 September 2019

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16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 SEPTEMBER 2019 INTERVIEW When Voice For Choice announced that it would be holding a pro-choice rally in Valletta, the response by one pro-life organisation was to organise a counter-protest in the same place, on the same day. It is widely known that their cause is more popular than your own. Isn't there a danger, then, that Saturday's rally will only expose the pro- choice lobby as a microscopic community that can be easily ignored? When we launched Voice for Choice, it was in our manifesto that we would commemorate International Safe Abortion Day every year. This is an oc- casion where pro-choice ral- lies, activities and marches take place in countries all over the world. In Malta, it has nev- er been commemorated. So… if the turn-out is one person, 20 people or 30 people… it doesn't really matter. The mes- sage remains the same. 'We are here, and we are not going away'. In any case, we have al- ways said that this is not about the opinion of the majority. This is about rights; it's about health; it's about experiences woman go through in diffi- cult circumstances. In fact, the main aim of the rally is to raise awareness of the challenges that women in Malta face; and to try to challenge the stigma and the taboo surrounding this issue, so that these women will know that we are supporting them… When you say 'these women'… do you mean Maltese women who have had abortions overseas? Yes, but also women who have had harrowing experiences be- cause of the lack of safe abor- tion in Malta. And in theory, that can apply to all Maltese women… because all women can find themselves in these circumstances. According to statistics released by Voices for Choice, around 300-400 Maltese women seek abortions overseas each year. That is considerably higher than any previous estimate I've seen. How accurate are those figures? It is an estimate based on offi- cial statistics that we have, and also online statistics for medical abortions in other countries. In the last five years, 600 Maltese women have travelled to abort to just one country. And not all countries provide specific num- bers. We do know, however, that hundreds more have gone to other countries for the same reason. We also receive stories from people saying, 'I went to the Netherlands'… or to Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal. Bel- gium… even to Poland, of all places. So, our estimate is based on all these indicators; but that doesn't take into account the cases we do not know about. Like the case that emerged this week, of a Maltese-Canadian woman who, five years ago, was denied emergency termination of her pregnancy by the local hospital, even though there was a risk to her life… Before turning to the details of that case: how typical is it of the local situation? Is this something your organisation hears of often? The worrying thing is that… we don't know, and we can't know, because there are no official statistics. In fact, that was our immediate reaction. We want to know what is hap- pening at Mater Dei. We need answers. Actually, we are hop- ing that journalists investigate further, because we are limited as to how far we can investi- gate ourselves. I, for one, was expecting Mater Dei to come out with a statement… that the authorities would comment of- ficially on the matter. But, as for how widespread this sort of thing is… ever since Doctors For Choice came out in public, there have been similar cases reported. So I suspect that this one is actually the tip of an ice- berg… Let's talk about that case itself. What actually happened? I didn't speak to the woman in question myself, nor did I work on the story. But from what was reported… and also from the comments by her family, who are now speaking out publicly… my understanding is that she was here on holiday, to visit her Maltese relatives; she was 17 weeks pregnant, with every in- tention to have the baby… but her waters broke while she was on a bus. Obviously, she went to hospital; first they thought they could potentially save the preg- nancy… but then, infection set in. Apparently – because this is all according to her story – the hospital staff withheld informa- tion from her until her husband flew in from Canada. Mean- while, the situation kept dete- riorating; she developed high fever; she did not respond to antibiotics… and at some point, she was told that the foetus was not viable, the way things were developing. But the foetal heartbeat was still there… al- though getting weaker. And as long as there was a foetal heart- beat, and she herself was not on the brink of death… legally, the doctors could not do anything. My understanding is that the Canadian consulate got involved, and she was eventually airlifted to a hospital in Paris… The Canadian consulate got involved, and the family even wrote to the Prime Minister, the health minister, etc. But it was her travel insurance policy that got her evacuated. She was lucky enough to have a good insurance policy that covered such cases. Otherwise, she could very easily have died here… like Savita Halappana- var, who died in almost identi- cal circumstances in Ireland in 2012. In fact, the only difference between the two cases is that one – Savita – developed sep- sis, and died. The other didn't… but bear in mind that she had dual nationality, and the means to procure alternative medical help. Other women in the same circumstances might not be so lucky. The Savita Halappanavar case also prompted a change in the Irish Constitution to allow for emergency terminations. This is something Malta's pro-choice has been lobbying for from the start: access to safe abortions in four specific circumstances, including health-risks to the mother. But it has been argued that Malta's actual legal framework does allow for emergency terminations in such cases. Would you say this incident proves that argument wrong? Well, what this case tells us is that… yes, the law can allow for emergency terminations, but Yesterday, Malta's emerging pro-choice lobby group held its first-ever rally to mark 'International Safe Abortion Day'. ANDREA DIBBEN, of 'Voice For Choice' outlines why Malta's total abortion ban, in all circumstances, poses a health risk to women 'We are here, and we are Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt

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