This afternoon the Maltese Government introduced a Bill to the Maltese Parliament that will introduce de facto abortion on demand, for any reason, up to birth in Malta.
The Maltese Government earlier indicated that it would introduce a change to legislation that would have been limited to codifying into law the current practice in Malta of applying the principle of double effect, permitting the ending of a life of an unborn child if it is done to save the life of a mother.
The Bill, which received a first reading in the Maltese Parliament this afternoon, goes much further than simply codifying current practice into law. Instead, the proposed amendment includes legalising abortion to protect the health of a pregnant woman who has medical complications that “could” put her “health in serious danger”.
This wording is very similar to the ‘risk of injury to health’ language that is used in the UK’s Abortion Act, which was passed into law in 1967. While this appeared to UK Parliamentarians at the time to be narrowly drafted to permit abortion in very limited circumstances, in practice the inclusion of this provision has allowed for widespread abortion on demand to occur in England, Wales and Scotland.
Statistics from the UK Government’s Department for Health and Social Care show that in 2021, over 200,000 abortions were performed under the ‘health’ clause in England and Wales, accounting for 98% of abortions that took place that year.
The vast majority of the over ten million abortions that have happened in the UK since the Abortion Act was introduced in 1967 have been allowed under this same ‘health’ clause in the law.
A number of other jurisdictions globally have included similar ‘health’ provisions (including previous laws in states in Australia and New Zealand) that have, in practice, allowed abortions on demand in very high numbers to happen in those jurisdictions.
Abortion up to birth
While abortions under the health clause in the UK Abortion Act have a time limit of 24 weeks gestation, the proposed Maltese Bill has no time limit on this clause, allowing abortion right up to birth.
This would allow de facto abortion on demand, for any reason, up to birth.
If the Bill becomes law, Malta will go from being the only country in Europe with full protection for the unborn child to having one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world.
Dr Calum Miller, doctor and research associate at the University of Oxford specialising in abortion policy, said in a tweet published this afternoon “The government of Malta has announced a Bill allowing abortion for ‘health’ reasons. This is without any doubt an open gate to abortion on demand. Everyone who knows pro-life people in or from Malta should contact them now to alert them to this imminent danger”.
“For example, Great Britain legalised abortion only for health reasons in 1967, a law still in place. Yet 1 in 4 pregnancies in GB end in abortion, 200,000 a year. This is abortion on demand by stealth”.
Maltese Government breaks election promise
Ahead of the 2022 Maltese general election, the Labour Party made a public commitment to ensure continued legal protection for unborn babies.
The leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, Robert Abela, was asked in a media interview “Are you against abortion and, if so, in all circumstances?” He replied “Against abortion in all circumstances”.
Polling shows no support for introducing abortion to Malta
Polling has consistently shown that Malta is one of the most pro-life countries in the world.
A recent MaltaToday survey showed that 97% of the population opposed unrestricted abortion at whatever stage of pregnancy and 90% of the population in Malta opposed unrestricted abortion being available in the first three months of pregnancy.
Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said “The Maltese Government has broken their electoral promise to the people of Malta by introducing this extreme abortion Bill today. If this Bill becomes law, it will introduce de facto abortion on demand, for any reason, up to birth in Malta”.
“As a result of this unique law and culture, there are likely thousands of people alive today because Malta has not enacted similar legislation to the UK’s Abortion Act. For the people of Malta, these are their sisters, brothers, friends, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins”.
“If the Bill becomes law, Malta will go from being the only country in Europe with full protection for the unborn child to having one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world. Tens of thousands of lives will likely be lost to abortion in Malta. The people of Malta must urgently rise up, take action and ensure that this horrific bill is scrapped”.
