abortion remains a crime in the country

Malta is the last European where abortion is still a crime that can lead a woman and her doctor to prison. A 22-year-old woman had to terminate an unwanted pregnancy in secret, with no one to confide in. “My parents still don’t know“, she confides. She found a doctor abroad who prescribed her an abortion pill which she received by post. The young woman does not know where the stamp comes from. Each year, 500 Maltese women thus abort in isolation.

Gynecologist, Doctor Isabel Stabile tries to change mentalities and tries to sensitize the population. She wants abortion to be legalized in the country. She regularly faces rejection, with some people throwing her leaflets in the trash. Maltese society is Catholic and conservative. Last May, the government rejected a bill granting the right to abortion. He does not intend to change the texts or the penalties provided for by law. Some sentences can go up to three years in prison for women and people who help them, four years for doctors. In practice, there are no women imprisoned in Malta for abortion but the legal pressure induces terrible guilt.