Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1322776
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 DECEMBER 2020 NEWS Christmas specials • Women LAURA CALLEJA Women find their voice in the abortion debate "I am writing my story with hope that this can help legalize abortion in Malta. I will nev- er forget my abortion in 2012. As I type I'm crying. Not a lot of people understand, and its not something I've about with anyone. I hope my story helps. Women and girls in Malta need options and we need support." "I wanted to share my story as I want people to understand that by wanting to have an abortion, that doesn't make you a bad person, and it's ok to think of oneself. I do believe I am a great mother now and I am hap- py that I can give my children what they need, but I'm not sure I could have been a good mother back then and definite- ly couldn't afford to be a mum." THE above are comments sourced by the Dear Decision Makers campaign, explaining why women have chosen to come forward and share their abortion stories in 2020. The campaign is attempting to bring the voices of women to the forefront of the abortion debate on the island and joins hosts of other organisations that have cropped up over the last two years – such as Doc- tors for Choice, and Voice for Choice (a coalition of NGOs) among others. Undoubtably, despite wom- en's voices being brought to the forefront in the debate, 2020 has been a trying year for all. The coronavirus pandem- ic and subsequent lockdowns across Europe exposed just how harmful Malta's total ban on abortion can be. During the height of the pandemic, Abor- tion Support Network (ASN) saw a surge in women request- ing assistance to terminate pregnancies. "I think one of the reasons the figures have gone up is be- cause of the pandemic, because before, women who had the means to get on a plane and have an abortion, would do so – however – now everyone in Malta and subsequently Eu- rope, knows what it feels like to be poor, or a migrant, and not have the means to get on a plane and have an abortion. It made women collectively un- derstand the struggles of oth- ers," ASN founder Mara Clarke told MaltaToday back in Sep- tember. However, 2020 also saw a no- ticeable shift in the way abor- tion is discussed on a national level. In July, European Com- missioner for Equality Helena Dalli reaffirmed her "commit- ment to ensuring women and girls have access to health and medical care including sexu- al reproductive rights". Even though Dalli said some had misinterpreted her comments, and that she would respect member states in their choice of abortion legislation, she joined the handful of Maltese politicians willing to speak out in favour of reproductive rights. In October, TVM's L-Erbgħa Fost Il-Ġimgħa featured what turned out to be a civil discus- sion on abortion, with a line- up that included the European Court of Human Rights judge emeritus Giovanni Bonello, ac- tivist and lawyer Lara Dimitri- jevic, pro-choice doctor Isabel Stabile as well as Konrad Borg and Nicola Micallef Stafrace from Doctors for Life. A month later, Malta's newest Labour MEP, Cyrus Engerer, broke ranks with the tradition- al abdication of Maltese mem- bers in Brussels to support reproductive rights, by sup- porting a resolution condemn- ing the abortion ban in Poland. Engerer was the only Maltese MEP to vote for the resolution. Reflecting on the year, Prof. Isabel Stabile told MaltaToday she agreed that until recently any discussion about abortion had been taboo within Mal- ta's medical community, let alone among the general pub- lic – although doctors in Mal- ta inevitably have to deal with women seeking abortions and post-abortion care. Prof. Sta- bile highlighted that in a study held in 2019, 454 local doctors in Malta revealed for the first time that the majority agree that abortion should be legal- ised in limited circumstances, such as when a woman's life is in danger and cases of fatal foetal anomalies. This study is now being repeated among younger doctors and students, and Prof. Stabile said she was quite sure that the results will be even more significant.