Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1387622
ON June 24, 2021, history was made. The European Parliament adopted a resolution confirming that women in Malta, as in the rest of the EU, must have access to safe, evidence-based and com- passionate care when it comes to sexual and reproductive health, and that includes abortion. The Matić Report was adopted by a majority of 378 in favour includ- ing that of Cyrus Engerer, one of Malta's own MEPs. The erroneous belief that the issue falls outside of EU com- petence has finally been put to rest. And so it should, because there is no question whatsoev- er that sexual and reproduc- tive health and rights are fun- damental to health, economic development, gender equality and well-being of humanity. Restrictive abortion laws such as in Malta put women's lives at risk because such laws force women to either travel and therefore delay the abortion, or access illegal abortion care which may be unsafe. It also criminalises women and the doctors who look after them. Young people, women and marginalised groups in Malta all deserve better, and this re- port is a good starting point to address this injustice. What exactly does the Matić report say? This report urges member states to protect and enhance sexual and reproduc- tive health and rights (SRHR), and calls upon them remove all barriers to the full range of high-quality, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services to end inequali- ties in the EU. In other words, a woman in Malta should not have less access to sexual and reproductive healthcare than one in, say, Sweden. The report also calls out those member states that still have highly restrictive laws prohib- iting abortion in all cases (such as Malta) or except in strictly defined circumstances (such as Poland), leading to wom- en having to seek clandestine abortions or carry their preg- nancy to term against their will, which Matić called "a vi- olation of their human rights". By passing this report, the European Parliament has un- equivocally stated that abor- tion is a right, a fundamental human right. Yes, this is a res- olution, not a law so it is not legally binding, but it puts paid the ridiculous assertions of an- ti-choice groups in Malta that claim, through clenched teeth I would imagine, that there is no legal basis for abortion as a hu- man right. This is false, and the European Parliament has now joined a growing list of inter- national institutions that con- sider abortion a human right. The report goes even further, calling the total ban on abor- tion care (such as in Malta) a form of gender-based violence. This is because, as it current- ly stands, women and girls in Malta cannot have an abortion even if they have been raped. The report urges all member states to ensure universal ac- cess to safe and legal abortion, to guarantee that abortion upon request is legal in early pregnancy, as well as beyond if the pregnant person's health is in danger. The Matić report takes a ho- listic view of sexual and repro- ductive health and is not just about abortion. The report is based on science and draws upon scientific evidence to rec- ommend comprehensive sexu- al education (and not just ab- stinence, as is primarily taught in Maltese schools), access to medical services for trans and intersex persons, as well as IVF for all those who need it. The report also urges states to ensure universal access to a range of high-quality and modern contraceptive meth- ods, as well as counselling and information on contraception - another serious gap in the Maltese health care system. All of this catered for in the Matić report, and yet three Maltese MEPs decided to vote against the whole report because it mentions abortion. To argue, as did one of our MEPs who voted against this report, that she believes in sci- ence when it comes to COVID vaccines, but then ignores all the scientific proof that legal abortion safeguards women and girls' health, is frankly lu- dicrous. Similarly ludicrous is how another one of our MEPs told us he has embarked on a project to ensure the Maltese can access medicines as easi- ly as people in the rest of the EU, but then proceeded to vote against the Matić report, seem- ingly oblivious to the fact that most abortions nowadays hap- pen by the woman taking med- icines in her own home. It is sad that a group of an- ti-choice doctors in Malta ac- tively petitioned MEPs to vote against the Matić report. How logical is that? How can we live in a country where contracep- tion is not free, the morning after pill is not easily available despite being legal, and yet this group of medical professionals argue for abortion to remain a criminal offense? Perhaps they should also pe- tition the Royal College of Ob- stetricians and Gynaecologists, which accredits local OBGYN trainees, to drop its stance in favour of the decriminalisa- tion of abortion, or they should petition the World Health Or- ganisation to stop considering abortion as an essential health- care service. I highly doubt they would be successful. Make no mistake about it, de- spite our restrictive laws prob- ably more than 400 hundred women each year in Malta take a risk by having self-adminis- tered abortion pills at home. Why do they do this? There are so many reasons, and many of them are clearly illustrat- ed in the stories submitted to break the taboo (www.break- thetaboo.mt), an online plat- form that publishes personal abortion stories from women in Malta. One would expect the Maltese MEPs who voted against the report to provide feasible and acceptable alterna- tive solutions to these women in Malta who resort to illegal abortion, but alas they have provided none. Well done to the author of the report Predrag Fred Matić and well done to all the MEPs from across Europe who voted in fa- vour, including our own Cyrus Engerer. History was made this week, and the adoption of this report should be a verita- ble turning point that will see sexual and reproductive rights upheld and respected in all corners of the EU. Prof. Isabel Stabile and Dr Christopher Barbara are Secretary and President of Doctors for Choice Isabel Stabile and Christopher Barbara 13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 JUNE 2021 OPINION Abortion is a human right, MEPs say Cyrus Engerer, one of Malta's MEPs, voted in favour of the Matic Report