Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543912
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 MARCH 2026 Depenalisation of abortion is the very least we expect Editorial THIS leader has repeatedly argued for the legalisa- tion of abortion and its regulation as a healthcare matter. Pregnant women should have the choice to make decisions on their life, their health and wellbeing as they deem fit. And that includes the choice to terminate their pregnancy. We contend that every woman should have the right to terminate her pregnancy for whatever reason up to the point of the foetus's viability out- side the womb. Furthermore, at any stage of the pregnancy, the woman should have the choice to terminate her pregnancy if her life is on the line. Not everyone will make these choices but for those who want to, the option should be accessible, safe and legal. But this is not about the legalisation of abortion and the parameters that could determine when and how this could be done. We understand that the government has no mandate to go down this route. We also know that the government back-peddled on its initial proposal in 2023 to introduce an ex- ception to the law that would have allowed abor- tion to take place if the woman's health was in jeopardy. The only exceptions passed by parliament back then concerned instances when a woman's life was on the line. The changes stipulated that a preg- nancy could be terminated if the woman's life is at "immediate risk" or if a woman's health is in "grave jeopardy which can lead to death". Ground breaking as these changes were—it was the first time Malta's draconian no-exceptions law was amended—they effectively codified what was a widely accepted practice in the medical profes- sion. Nonetheless, abortion remained a criminal offence. It is precisely the penalties contemplated by the Criminal Code that this leader wants to address. A woman who procures her own miscarriage can be sent to jail for a period between 18 months and three years. Medical professionals who carry out an abortion or prescribe medication that causes it risk a prison term between 18 months and four years, and perpetual interdiction from the profession. Only last week, a woman was handed down an 18-month jail term suspended for three years by a Maltese court after she was found guilty of pro- curing her own abortion using pills. The woman had been reported to the police by the doctor who treated her at Mater Dei Hospital after she devel- oped complications. Hers is the second such case in a year. No woman should go to prison for having an abortion. On this, there seems to be political con- sensus, which brings us to the point of depenali- sation. The least our members of parliament can do is change the law and remove the possibility of a custodial sentence being handed down by the courts in abortion cases. Depenalisation removes the need for women to go begging to Cabinet to have their sentence re- formed, as Prime Minister Robert Abela suggested in comments to the media. Momentum was right to point out the 'feudalistic' nature of Abela's posi- tion, which forces ordinary citizens to go begging for mercy in Castille. If the prime minister truly believes that no wom- an should go to prison for abortion, he should table a legislative proposal in parliament to ensure the law is changed. He should stop dancing around the issue and directing women towards his office for clemency. As Momentum correctly pointed out: "Parlia- ment possesses the authority and responsibility to establish clear legal frameworks to ensure that imprisonment is strictly excluded in such cases." And the prime minister does not need an elector- al mandate for this. Parliament often legislates on penalties—making them harsher or reducing their severity—depending on the circumstances and po- litical direction at the time. No electoral mandate was sought to toughen drug and drink driving penalties. And yet, Cabinet put forward legislative changes because it felt the need to respond to a new reality that was developing. Similarly, in the context of a European Union where Maltese women are discriminated against because they cannot get an abortion in Malta and will have to travel to do so; in the context that EU social funds now can be used to facilitate access to abortion; in the context of hundreds of women liv- ing in Malta procuring their own abortion through the use of pills obtained over the internet; Maltese politicians have a duty to legislate and remove pris- on from the equation. It's the bare minimum they can do to make Malta's draconian abortion law more humane. The truth is that women will keep on having abortions in Malta irrespective of what the law states. Unfortunately, they will do so alone, in si- lence and in fear of being reported to the police if complications arise and they need to seek medical treatment. And with this comes the risk that women may forfeit medical treatment altogether to avoid crim- inal complications, endangering their wellbeing in the process. Do we have to wait for someone to die from complications before we act, like had hap- pened in Ireland? This is not the Malta we want. Quote of the Week "This underlines the importance of due process and of verifying facts carefully before reputations are put on the line." – Labour MEP Daniel Attard commenting after it emerged Belgian prosecutors had mistaken him for someone else with the same name during the Huawei bribery probe. MaltaToday 10 years ago Busuttil rides high as Muscat holds trust rating after Panamagate 13 April 2026 The PN is trailing the PL by just a single percentage point. Joseph Muscat leads Simon Busuttil by 4 points, down from 8 points last month and 15 points last year. MaltaToday's latest survey shows Oppo- sition Leader Simon Busuttil gaining four valuable trust points as the number of those who trust neither party leader decreased. But in an indication of re-entrenchment amongst Labour voters, the Prime Minister has re- tained the same trust level registered in a survey held last month before revelations on companies registered in Panama by Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi and the PM's chief of staff, Keith Schembri. The survey was held among 550 respond- ents between Monday and Wednesday. While Muscat held his ground among 2008 Labour voters, where he registers the same level of trust, he has lost trust among switch- ers (respondents who voted PN in 2008 and Labour in 2013). Among this category, the percentage of those who trust him more than Busuttil has decreased from 39% to 23%. But Muscat's trust rating has increased slightly among tra- ditional PL voters. [...]