Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539941
IT comes as no surprise that Malta ranked second from the bottom among 53 European countries in the Euro- pean Abortion Policy Atlas 2025 released this week. Malta scored 3.7%, placing it just above Andorra (0%) and below Poland (18.6%). This marks a small increase from Malta's 2021 score of 0%, which re- flected a total ban on abortion with no legal excep- tions. The minor improvement is down to the 2023 leg- islative changes that codified the exception allowing abortion when a woman's life is at risk, provided there is agreement from three medical specialists. The final wording approved by parliament had dropped the ex- ception that had formed part of the original proposal to allow an abortion if the woman's health was at risk. The Atlas is produced by the European Parliamen- tary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF) and the International Planned Parenthood Federa- tion European Network (IPPF EN). It evaluates coun- tries and territories based on legal frameworks, ser- vice availability, and access to information. Abortion is considered a criminal offence in Malta, and the woman and the doctors treating her risk be- ing sent to prison. The latter also face the prospect of losing their warrant. Only this year, a woman was given a suspended sen- tence after admitting to carrying out a medical abor- tion at home by using pills she sourced from abroad. The woman had sought medical assistance after ex- periencing abnormal bleeding and informed doctors that she had an abortion. She was subsequently re- ported to the police and charged. This woman is just one of the 600 women in Malta who every year have an abortion—at home by buying pills from abroad or travelling to other countries. The truth is that Malta's restrictive law is not stop- ping Maltese women from having abortions; it's just forcing them to do so in silence, in fear and alone. The current state of affairs makes it very hard for women to seek medical treatment if they face com- plications after an abortion out of fear that they will be report- ed and criminally charged. The situation is unfair on women in Malta, who continue to be deprived of the choice to terminate a pregnancy even if their health is at stake. Ironically, the Atlas shows how tiny Gibraltar's score jumped from 8% in 2021 to 58.6% after the ter- ritory effectively depenalised abortion, allowing it within the first 12 weeks if the woman's "mental or physical health is at risk" and after 12 weeks if her life is at risk. San Marino, another minnow state, also saw its score surge from 22% in 2021 to 60% following a referendum in which 77% of voters supported fully decriminalising abortion. But perhaps, the most relevant for Malta is Ire- land—a predominantly catholic nation like Malta— where the score increased to 66.3% in 2025 from 63.5% in 2021. Ireland had a constitutional ban on abortion, which was scrapped in a 2018 referendum. Subsequently, Leo Varadkar's centre-right govern- ment at the time putting forward legislation allowing abortion on demand up to the 12th week of pregnan- cy. The Irish experience was also characterised by sig- nificant milestones. One of these was a momentous decision by the European Court of Human Rights that argued women had a right to receive information about abortion irrespective of whether it was illegal or not in the country. Stifling information would breach their right to freedom of expression, the court ruled. Unfortunately, looking at the Atlas, Malta fails on practically every count. It remains the only EU state where women cannot access abortion safely and without fear of prosecution. There is no appetite at the political level to even discuss depenalisation or decriminalisation of abortion let alone its introduc- tion as a healthcare choice. Progress in this area re- mains stunted with women unable to choose what to do with their bodies, their health and their life. On abortion rights, Malta is Europe's laggard maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: KURT SANSONE EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt but why? 11 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 OCTOBER 2025 EDITORIAL that it should be banned everywhere in transport, without exception. Yet no such measures are being proposed in other sectors. This selective targeting exposes the measure for what it really is—not a gen- uine safety or anti-abuse reform, but a disproportionate and discriminatory policy aimed only at ride-hailing drivers. A matter of choice At its heart, this issue must boil down to choice. Operators are not children to be dictated to; they are professionals, and they should have the right to decide whether to accept cash, card, or both. For some, cashless payments may well provide convenience and security. But for many others, especially in a country where cash is still the dominant method of payment, being forced to refuse cash is the same as being forced to refuse customers. It is not for government to strip operators of this freedom under the guise of reform. A genuinely fair policy would respect operators enough to let them choose how they are paid. The simplest and most effective solu- tion would be to make this a toggle op- tion within the operator's application, empowering each operator to decide for themselves. Anything less is not modernisation; it is control dressed up as progress. Re- form should empower operators with more options, not handcuff them with fewer. If the government's aim is truly to re- form the sector, it must direct its efforts towards the root causes of exploitation and danger rather than symbolic fixes. That means banning the 50/50 model outright, not hoping it disappears indi- rectly. It means introducing strict rules on allowances and adjustments so that payslips reflect real income, not cre- ative accounting. It means equipping regulators with the tools to enforce working-time limits and prevent drivers from being forced into 16- or 18-hour shifts. And it means placing real, tech- nology-driven safety protections into the apps drivers rely on, rather than leaving them exposed on the promise that cashless payments will somehow keep them safe. The Light Passenger Operators As- sociation is in favour of reforms that genuinely improve the industry for both drivers and passengers. But mod- ernisation must not be confused with distraction. Banning cash is a superfi- cial solution to deep problems. Malta's cab sector needs courage to tackle the structural issues head on. Until that happens, the challenges that plague our industry will remain, no matter how many cashless terminals are installed in our vehicles. Malta's restrictive law is not stopping Maltese women from having abortions; it's just forcing them to do so in silence, in fear and alone