Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1372546
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 MAY 2021 INTERVIEW 'Political parties don't care about women. They only care about themselves' This bill you presented in Par- liament this week seems at a glance to contradict all your past positions on the same is- sue. A few years ago, you ac- cused the Labour government of 'trying to introduce abortion' by permitting embryo-freez- ing; now, you yourself are pro- posing something that would (on paper) make abortion more accessible. Can you explain the process that led to this appar- ent change of heart? First of all, the bill I present- ed is to repeal the criminaliza- tion of abortion: to remove the threat of imprisonment, both for the women concerned, and also for whoever helps them procure an abortion. I did not present a bill to either regulate, or introduce, abortion in itself. But in my experience – and as you said, I have spent most of my life defending the value of life at all stages; it's something I still feel very strongly about today – I have come to realise that 'condemnation', and 'fun- damentalism', will not get us an- ywhere, in the long run. Much worse than that: I am convinced that it will only result in more lives being lost. The lives of un- born babies; and also, the lives of women. Because 'death' comes in dif- ferent forms. There is physical death; and there is also psycho- logical death… in other words, being traumatized for a lifetime. So I feel that fundamental- ism, and condemnation, is only driving us into a brick wall. It doesn't save lives; on the con- trary, it only creates a situation where we can't even talk about the problem at all. And we do need to talk about it. We need to acknowledge, dis- cuss and treat the problem, in order to create a solution. But it's more than just that. I also want to help in the crea- tion of a society where abortion will no longer even be needed. Because in order to reduce the demand for abortion, we need a complete plan: sex educa- tion, focusing on the real rights and responsibilities involved… and that is something we sim- ply don't have, at the moment. Let's be honest: the issue is still heavily stigmatized, even in schools. We also need an adequate health system that covers the full spectrum of women's needs, with particular emphasis on pu- berty, menstruation, pregnancy, perinatal care, menopause… providing psychological sup- port, at each and every stage of a woman's life. The reality is: we don't have any of these things here. Lots of women suffer from trauma in this country, all the time… and they are simply left to bear it on their own, for their entire lives. Another thing we need is prop- er prevention. A far as I'm con- cerned, contraception should be free, and accessible. And we al- so need counselling. Not every- body can afford a therapist… Excuse me for interrupting, but in the past you argued against the contraceptive pill, on the grounds that it is 'abortive'… Exactly. And I spoke out against the morning-after pill, too… because I believe that life starts at fertilization. Scientif- ically, that is what I have been taught… But don't you think there's a contradiction in what you're saying now? No, because I still believe that we should do everything in our power to save each and every life… but – and this is the crux of the matter – not at the ex- pense of women's rights. Not at the cost of women losing their rights over their own bodies, and their own minds. And be- lieve me: I thought deeply and very long about this. It cannot be, that women are always left to fend for themselves… with- out any support from anyone. But I also believe that we can handle this impasse, and address these issues: not by condemning women; not by criminalizing women… and certainly not by leaving the Criminal Code as it is, so that we can keep women forever subjugated [taht it-tak- kuna]. Because, OK: it is true that no woman has ever gone to pris- on over abortion. But we are still subjugating women. At any time it likes, the government can choose to enforce this law, and use it for the purpose of arbitrary justice: as happened a few years ago in Morocco. You might remember the case of Hajar Raissouni: a dissident journalist, who went to a gynae- cologist… and she was accused of having procured an abortion, and imprisoned. God only knows how many other abortions take place in Morocco each year, without any consequences. But in this case, they decided to take action… whether she actually did have an abortion, or not. Why only in that case? Isn't it obvious that it was to make an example of her, for her political views? There is nothing stopping that sort of thing happening here in Malta, too. And let's face it: no woman has gone to prison, but there have been cases of women being prevented from travelling abroad, for mere suspicion that they might be wanting to abort. And I spoke out against it, at the time… Fair enough, but a lot of peo- ple out there are also asking: why precisely now? Some have accused you of having ulteri- or motives: for instance, that you presented this bill in order to place the government in an awkward position; or to create In her own words, independent MP MARLENE FARRUGIA provoked a 'tsunami of emotion' this week with her private member's bill to decriminsalise abortion. But her intention was also to force women's issues onto the national agenda, where they can no longer be ignored Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES BIANCHI