Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533084
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 MARCH 2025 Liza Caruana-Finkel Liza Caruana-Finkel is an abortion researcher-activist and a member of Moviment Graffitti OPINION We need reproductive justice, not a higher birth rate HAVE we considered the dilemmas that people face when considering parenting, such as socio-economic conditions, work- life balance, parental leave, availability of support, and equal share of parental re- sponsibilities? And what if you decide not to have children, or not to have a child at a particular point in time – can you access contraception, abortion, or sterilisation with ease and without repercussions? 'Reproductive justice' – a term coined by black women in the US in the 1990s – combines reproductive health and rights with social justice. It encompass- es all the social, economic, and political factors that impact reproductive choices and decision-making abilities. It empha- sises how everyone should have the right to control their own body, to decide if, when, and how to have children, and to take care of their children in safe, healthy, and sustainable communities. Reproductive justice includes: Compre- hensive sex education, affordable contra- ceptives, equal access to safe abortions, good pregnancy care, prevention/care for STDs, a living wage to support families, safe homes, and more. It also acknowl- edges the intersecting factors (e.g. race and class) impacting marginalised wom- en, trans people, and non-binary individ- uals differently. Sexual and reproductive health are sore- ly lacking in Malta. The range of publicly available contraceptive options is inad- equate, and STD rates are amongst the highest in Europe. With emergency con- traception, pharmacists' personal beliefs take precedence over duty of care. And abortion remains practically banned, in- accessible, and criminalised. Despite potential legal repercussions, many are able to access medical abortion pills in Malta, while the more affluent can afford the costs of accessing legal abor- tions in other countries. Having to go abroad for healthcare is inhumane, but this discriminates most against individ- uals unable to travel. A pregnant teen- ager, a single mother without access to childcare, a woman living with an abusive partner, a disabled person with mobility issues, and an asylum seeker lacking trav- el documentation all face additional ob- stacles. While many claim that Malta is over- crowded and attribute this to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, Maltese women are stigmatised and vilified for not having ('enough') children or for hav- ing abortions. As recently highlighted by economist Marie Briguglio and medical doctor Joanna Delia, this paradox simply amounts to a racist and xenophobic sen- timent. While (white) Maltese women are guilted into having children, as though it is their duty to do so for the state, it is considered a burden for non-Maltese (especially non-white) nationals to have children. Who is seen as 'fit to parent' is not lim- ited to race or nationality. Disability, gen- der identity, sexuality, and age also affect whether someone is deemed 'deserving' or 'responsible enough' to have and raise chil- dren. Disabled people often face additional barriers in making autonomous decisions about their bodies and their lives. While disability is weaponised by anti-abortion groups, disabled people are left out of con- versations on abortion, even though they may need abortions too. Despite the im- portance of "nothing about us without us," disabled people are still routinely infanti- lised and stripped of agency. For those who want to have children, our work-life balance leaves much to be desired. Malta has one of the lowest minimum wages in the EU, rising living costs, and parental leave at the legal min- imum. If you also factor in the burden of domestic labour and care that is heavily placed on women, parenthood becomes a less viable and less alluring option. For those who are parents – have you ever felt constrained to make parenting-relat- ed choices you did not want to make? Did you decide to have only one child because of financial or social conditions? Did you feel forced to return to work only a few weeks after giving birth? Climate change-driven environmental factors (e.g. extreme temperatures and air pollution) are associated with pregnancy complications, such as increased risk of miscarriage and preterm birth. Concerns about the future in our rapidly changing environmental landscape have also led to reproductive anxieties, with people questioning whether having children is a viable, ethical, and moral decision. If we think of the overbuilt environment, con- stant construction, lack of green spaces, traffic pollution, cruise ship and power station emissions – can we honestly say that children are being born and raised in healthy and sustainable communities? For reproductive justice to be achieved, we need to analyse power structures, ad- dress intersecting oppressions, centre the marginalised, and join together across identities and problems. It is important to realise that the issues discussed here are not separate, but deeply linked and inter- twined. There is no reproductive justice without disability justice, gender justice, environmental justice, and racial justice. In the words of feminist author Audre Lorde, "there is no such thing as a sin- gle-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives." But if we work togeth- er, we can build a socially just society with reproductive freedom for all. While many claim that Malta is overcrowded and attribute this to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, Maltese women are stigmatised and vilified for not having ('enough') children or for having abortions 'Reproductive justice' is a term coined by black women in the US in the 1990s Saviour Balzan will be back next Sunday with his regular column