Malta’s Parliament Passes First-Time But Very Restrictive Abortion Law

One small step. The Parliament of Malta adopted, Wednesday, June 28, a text of law authorizing for the first time the abortion, but in the only case where the life of the mother is in danger and where the fetus is not viable. The text was adopted unanimously by parliamentarians, after last-minute changes welcomed by anti-abortion activists, their opponents denouncing for their part a missed opportunity for real reform.

Malta was the only member state of the European Union where abortion remained illegal in all circumstances. After the high-profile case of an American tourist who was denied an abortion last year when her life was in danger, and had to travel to Spain to terminate her pregnancy, leftist Labor Prime Minister Robert Abela had proposed an amendment to allow doctors to resort to abortion when the life of the future mother is in danger.

Strict conditions

This project had aroused strong criticism within the conservative opposition and the Catholic Church, which considered that the wording of the law was too vague. The final version of the text specifies that if the life of the future mother is not in imminent danger, the decision to abort requires the opinion of a team of three doctors. Also, abortion can only take place if the fetus is non-viable (if it cannot survive outside the woman’s womb) and all other permitted medical procedures have been ruled out.

Pro-abortion activists denounced the changes to the text, saying the lives of more women would be put at risk. “You gave us hope, but only to return to your old positions”declared before a parliamentary committee Marcelin Naudi, an academic and activist. “You had the opportunity to instill change, but you turned your back on human rights and women’s rights.”