Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1535957
FOR somebody I thought was my sav- iour, you sure make me do a whole lot of labour. I'd rather face god's wrath time and time again than hear another person spew their misaligned opinion on abor- tion one more time. And I'll dance with the devil if that person happens to be a politician hoping to skirt around the topic in fear of the electoral unknown. 'We should have a mature discussion. We should really discuss topics con- cerning women. This discussion should be led by civil society. This topic should be dealt with sensitively.' Do any of these classic phrases ring a bell to you? Because you've probably heard them countless times from our country's po- litical top brass. And as yet, nothing. A complete vacuum. The people who have been media-trained to yap for a living have chosen to opt out and remain si- lent, which is unlike them. Why is that? The deafening silence from those who we elected to represent us and make de- cisions in our name contrasts with those who continue to regurgitate medical- ly-flawed and hostile opinions on the topic. All the while, women in Malta are still having abortions, buying abortion pills and travelling for abortions. So, who's going to take centre-stage? Who's ready to take the leap and spear- head a much-needed conversation to address the elephant in the room? To be completely fair, civil society has been talking both for and against the topic for quite a while. So why hasn't the conver- sation taken off? Several protests, talk shows and wom- en's marches later and time and time again the discussion dies just as quickly as it started. Why is that? I refuse to believe that change is only brought about on these islands because politicians have taken an interest in the subject. And does Christianity have such a chokehold on us that it has stunted our ability to have a genuine conversation? This, I do believe to an extent, consider- ing that the most recent amendments to the Criminal Code in relation to abor- tion had to have the archbishop's seal of approval for the president to sign it into law, which is weird because as far as we know, the archbishop, the sup- posed most celibate man on the island, doesn't have a uterus or any medical background. I still remember, and will probably never forget, how vehemently some preached that the law did not need amending. I remember, and I etched it into my brain, how they wished death upon pro-choice activists. The blatant irony is never not hilarious when this argument crops up in the country. But back to my original point; as a re- sult of these amendments, five women managed to terminate their pregnancies because the pregnancy posed a seri- ous threat to their health. Five women who did not have to wait until their last breaths to get the medical attention they needed because doctors were too afraid to intervene. Beforehand, the highly re- strictive abortion laws threatened doc- tors with incarceration for doing their job and carrying out their duties; that of taking care of their patient. And for those staunch pro-life people reading this and thinking the 'patient' should al- so include an embryo, please remember that the woman is not a simple incuba- tor. A woman is not a vessel of sacrifice, not an afterthought, but an actual hu- man being without whom, no one would have ever been brought into this world in the first place. Which is why I find extremely disturb- ing, the amount of men who insist upon asserting their opinion on this subject when they do not have the credentials to do so. And do you know what I find most insulting as a woman? It's that the vast majority don't even know what or where a uterus is or they think a woman urinates from the vagina. Their opin- ion on women's health only extends to abortion; that's it. That is where their knowledge of a woman's body starts and ends. They don't want to discuss peri- ods or PCOS or endometriosis or mis- carriages with us, which are legitimate and real concerns for us as women. No, it's only abortion they're interested in. Despite everything, I want to make it amply clear that men should not be ex- cluded from the conversation. And hav- ing a medical background isn't the be all and end all of this conversation. Here's why: Who's reporting women to the po- lice for having an abortion? Disgruntled and estranged partners and doctors. Two categories of society you'd think a woman can trust and confide in. Newspapers have disclosed that the majority of reports relating to abortion received by the police are from doctors. Imagine, going to your trusted doctor, who is bound by doctor-patient con- fidentiality, to discuss your health or complications after getting an abortion, and instead of medicine, you get a jail term. We're reporting patients in need. Do we, as a nation, even understand the gravity of this situation? At least the archbishop can keep a secret. To be completely fair to them, the ethical rules they abide by state specifically that they must bear in mind the importance of preserving human life from the time of conception until death. However, it also says that medical practitioners shall not voluntarily disclose without the consent of the patient, information which they obtained in the course of their profes- sional relationship with the patient. And if it's the law that doctors are afraid of, then let's discuss the law again and again until they feel comfortable acting within it because we should trust women and medical professionals to make the right choices for themselves. They're the ones the law affects; they're the ones who bring the law to life, so let's protect them and not the morals of those who feel holier than thou. Okay, so let's review the situation: Pol- iticians don't want to talk because they might lose votes; doctors don't want to talk because they might lose their licence; women don't want to talk be- cause they're shamed and risk incarcer- ation; and men literally have nothing to lose—no wonder their voice is so loud on the matter. Man don't even need to shout to be heard cause no one's talking; what a privilege. The topic of abortion in Malta is high- ly ironic, those who need to speak up the most are almost silenced and those whose viewpoint should matter least in this conversation have subjected us to their endless podcast of opinions. So, where's all this going to lead us? Can the 'real slim shady' please stand up and put one of those fingers on each hand up? I need women to speak up, I need doctors to stand up, I desperately need politicians to own up. Let's talk. We're ready for it, we're just not ready to admit it. 9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 JUNE 2025 Pearl Agius Pearl Agius is a lawyer OPINION File photo I'm not afraid of god, I am afraid of man