Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1471907
9 NEWS ANALYSIS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 JUNE 2022 abortion ban stronger or weaker? power to erode abortion rights. As a representative of the EU institutions Roberta Metsola could not but criticize the Supreme Court decision as a backward step for women's rights. But she can't forget that her words have implications in a country with even harsher laws than in the US states now banning abortion As an MEP Roberta Metso- la had a track record of con- sistently voting against largely symbolic references to abortion rights in resolutions discussed by the European parliament. But to secure the prestigious role of EU president and crucial support of the Renew group alongside that of the socialists, Metsola had pledged to sign the Simone Veil pact that guarantees women's access to abortion and contra- ceptives in the EU. Following the SCOTUS decision Metsola tweeted her concern on "the re- gression of women's rights in the US, and in other places around the globe" while pledging that "the European Parliament will keep standing up for women, equality and liberty." But this relatively timid tweet inevitably invited comparisons between Malta and the "regres- sion of women's rights in the USA" with former PN candidate Emma Portelli Bonnici, replying: "and yet, Malta has the most re- strictive abortion laws in the EU and in most of the world, crim- inalising it in all instances and having no derogation to save the life of the pregnant person, or for cases of rape or incest... Don't forget about us," she tweeted. For by describing the SCOTUS decision as regressive, Metsola was also confirming how retro- grade Malta's laws are. And while Metsola is bound to represent the views of the parlia- ment which elected her, she will also have to do the same when- ever parliament expresses con- cern on Malta's abortion ban. Surely Metsola is behaving cor- rectly, but she can't expect peo- ple to distinguish between her views and those of the European institutions she now incarnates. Even the PN piggy-backs on Metsola's popularity without al- so acknowledging that its expo- nents in Europe can only climb the institutional ladder by 'com- promising' on issues like abor- tion. One may be appalled by the dissonance between past and present stances on this issue, but the experience of working in EU institutions where abortion rights are taken for granted, may well be a learning curve for as- piring Maltese leaders. Labour's grassroots are often at a loss on an issue where the party had deliberately chosen to take a step back, waiting for civil society to take the lead, but the party can't keep running with the hares and hunting with the hounds on this issue. In the end Abela has to decide As the harbinger of the social reforms introduced in the past century, Labour inevitably car- ries the abortion chalice with trepidation. The deafening si- lence of all Labour MPs except Rosianne Cutajar on the Pru- dente case, stands testimony to an existential crisis in a party which also harbours within it a dormant, conservative, albeit not necessarily clerical element. For even in Labour's heartlands, waning clerical influence has not been matched by the rise of fem- inist values. Moreover in the past decades, the party had little choice other than to represent the prevailing anti-abortion sentiment of its electorate while leaving a win- dow open for those who see the party as the best bet for change in this matter. While pro-choice declarations by MEPs like Cyrus Engerer and Alfred Sant em- bolden liberals in the party, the party's leadership remains non-committal, reluctant on opening a can of worms which risks creating new tensions in the party. Like the PN, Labour faces a rift between a growing cohort of vot- ers who aspire to the continental mainstream, and voters whose values are either shaped by pa- triarchy's depiction of mother- hood as the universal destiny of all women, or simply reflect dec- ades of exposure to propaganda which equates abortion to mur- der and pro abortionists to baby killers. But as amply proven by Joseph Muscat's bold stance on mar- riage equality, strong leadership can change deeply ingrained val- ues. In this sense Abela stands at the crossroads, fully knowing that opinions on this issue are changing but reluctant on taking any bold step which could alien- ate more traditional voters. Still, Labour cannot ignore the reality of an increasingly cosmopolitan country whose economy also thrives on the contribution of foreign workers, which include women hailing from countries where abortion is fully legal. The case of the American cou- ple who ended up being airlift- ed to Spain by their insurance company to ensure the safety of the mother, also risks rais- ing the alarm bells of pregnant women keen on visiting Malta as tourists. And just as widespread corruption and the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia threw a spotlight on dirty money pass- ing through the island, Malta also risks incurring reputational damage from its abortion ban, especially in an international context where abortion is once again dominating the news cycle and where it is constantly ref- erenced as the only country in the European Union to prohibit abortion entirely. Abortion-rights and anti- abortion demonstrators gather outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on Friday, 24 June, 2022