Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1487971
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 DECEMBER 2022 8 INTERVIEW Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt 'Do the right thing' There's a lot of confusion sur- rounding the so-called 'abor- tion bill': starting with the fact that you yourself insist that it has nothing to do with 'abortion', at all. And yet, the amendment itself clearly states that - in cases where the moth- er's health is threatened - the punitive measures for 'termi- nating pregnancy' (i.e., the medical definition of 'abortion') will be removed. Isn't it true, then, that this amendment IS 'about abortion'? And that it WILL 'decriminalise abortion' (even if only in certain, specific circumstances)? No, absolutely not. The law that regulates abortion in this country is basically Chapter 9, Article 243 of the Criminal Code: which, in a few words, states that whoever terminates a pregnancy – for any reason, and by whatever means – is liable to a prison sentence. Doc- tors and specialists face up to four years imprisonment, and will lose their warrants; the mother - or anyone else who assists her - faces up to three years. That is what the law says, and we are not going to change any of it. Everything will remain exactly as it is today. And let's be clear about what the word abortion means. When peo- ple out there say 'abortion', they don't mean it in the strictly medi- cal sense of the word. By abortion, they understand cases where a pregnant woman, who is in full health, doesn't want to have the baby; so she takes the decision to terminate the pregnancy – either on her own, or by going to a phar- macy or a clinic – and remove her unborn child. That is what people out there understand an abortion to be. And it's illegal; and it will remain illegal, even after the amendment. Just to be clear. What we ARE proposing to change, on the other hand, is the fact that what has always been 'standard medical practice', to this day – i.e., that a doctor intervenes to save a pregnant woman's life, when there are life-threatening complications – is, in fact, illegal. This summer [because of the Andrea Prudente case] we discov- ered that the law does not allow for any exceptions: even in cases where the mother's life is in dan- ger; and even when the mother does want to have the baby… but, because of pregnancy compli- cations, it is not possible to save both the mother, and the baby. Now: as both a doctor, and a pediatric surgeon, I've seen cases like this. I won't go into any spe- cific details: though maybe, some other time, there'll be opportunity to recount some of these expe- riences. But I know of instanc- es where pregnant women who wanted to have the baby – and who cried, when told it was not possible to save it – suffered from medical complications, which forced them, and their doctors, to choose between either termi- nating the pregnancy, to save the woman's life… or else, for both the mother and baby to die. As things stand today, however – and I honestly didn't know this, until last summer – the law I does not offer any kind of protection, even in cases like this. It simply says that 'whoever terminates a pregnancy – in any situation whatsoever – should go to pris- on'. So even if a doctor is forced to terminate a pregnancy to save a woman's life: in theory, he could be sentenced to up to four years' imprisonment; and the mother, for three. And yes: we're going to change this. This is absolutely not accept- able, to us. But let's be clear: this is the ONLY thing we are propos- ing to change. This, and nothing else… You sound like you were 'sur- prised' to discover - only last summer - that Article 243 of the Criminal Code offers no excep- tions whatsoever… Not just me: all doctors were surprised… How is that possible, though? People have been pointing out (including in the international press) that Malta has a 'total abortion ban, in all circum- stances', for decades now. And Doctors For Choice – which formed more than two years ago – have been publicly rais- ing this very issue, right from the very start… [Shrugs] Fact is, I wasn't aware of it. And nor were any of the doc- tors I spoke to, at the time. They, too, were under the impression that the law DID provide some form of exception, in such cas- es… and let's face it: most doctors don't spend their time reading Malta's laws, do they? But when I asked the Attorney General, spe- cifically, whether the law offered any protection for doctors and women, caught up in that kind of life-threatening situation… the answer I got was, 'No. Not only does the law offer no protection: but it very clearly indicates that both doctor and mother would have to go to prison, in ALL cas- es…'. When pro-choice NGO Women for Women was first formed, they called for the decriminali- zation of abortion in four, spe- cific circumstances: including 'when the pregnancy threatens the life/health of the mother'. Isn't this exactly what you are proposing to do, right now? Once again, I stress we are NOT discussing the 'decriminalization of abortion', here. Abortion – as people out there understand the word: and I repeat, I'm talk- ing about 'healthy women who choose to terminate their preg- nancy for no medical reason'… that is, was, and will remain ille- gal… With all due respect, however: not everyone uses the word 'abortion' only in that narrow, limited sense. MaltaToday's readership also includes doc- tors, health professionals, campaigners, activists (on both sides)… and all sorts of other people who DO actually have a basic understanding, that there is a health issue at stake here… Well, I'm a politician: I must ad- dress the 'people out there'… In that case, I'll rephrase the question: as a politician, do you feel that the word 'abortion' has become so politically 'load- ed', in the Maltese context… that you've become afraid to actually use it, yourself? No, no, it's not like that at all. All I'm trying to say here, is that… what we are doing, is simply amending Malta's abortion law to include a legal exception – which doesn't exist, today - that will offer protection to women and doctors, in cases where the pregnancy puts the mother's life or health in grave danger. Now: can I be any clearer than that? No, I'd say that was clear Health Minister CHRIS FEARNE strongly rebuts accusations that his government is trying to 'introduce abortion through the back- door'; insisting that the controversial 'abortion amendment' is not just necessary, for medical reasons… but it's also 'the right thing to do' PHOTO: JRAY ATTARD / MALTATODAY