Congratulations to those who deserve it

If any further proof were needed that Malta’s political establishment is now completely redundant, it would have to be the outcome of the recent political ‘debate’ on emergency contraception.

I put the word ‘debate’ in inverted commas there, because... well, it’s a strange sort of ‘debate’ that doesn’t actually discuss an issue at all for as long as anyone can remember: only to suddenly spring into action at the eleventh hour... and even then, only for the political input to be completely ignored in the final decision.

What sort of ‘debate’ did we even have about emergency contraception, anyway? By the time the parliamentary committee got round to discussing the issue – exactly why it even bothered is beyond me, but never mind that for now – all the pertinent arguments had already long been thrashed out in the public domain. 

And if the issue was placed in the public domain at all, it was certainly not by any local politician... but by the women who precipitated the entire discussion to begin, by means of a judicial protest filed in court.

Before that date, you will not find the words ‘emergency contraception’ anywhere in the Maltese political lexicon. And if you encounter the words ‘morning-after pill’, it would only ever be in the context of the same old, tired argument about how evil abortion is, and how committed all our politicians are to defending the rights of the unborn child.

Never mind that, when medical authority finally pronounced itself on the issue, it was to explode the myth that emergency contraception had anything whatsoever to do with abortion. The only political discussion we ever had on the issue was rooted in the ridiculously flawed pretext that ‘MAP = abortion’; and never – not once – did it shift beyond that point by even a fraction of a millimetre.

There was certainly never any discussion about the rights of women to safe and effective contraception, as recommended by the European Commission since we joined in 2004. Nothing about the indignity of having to ask permission to resort to ‘emergency’ medical treatment. Nothing, in brief, that was even remotely relevant to the matter at hand.

Already, you can see that there never was much room for politics to squeeze into that sort of discussion. If the political parties’ only contribution was to get all their scientific facts wrong, and (inevitably) come up with a recommendation so patently flawed that the Medicines Authority had no option but to dismiss it out of hand...  then quite frankly, we would have been better off without any political input at all.

And yet, just look how the debate ended up. Before the final decision was even taken, the two political parties were already engaged in the umpteenth argument about whose idea it was in the first place... who did more to put the issue on the agenda... who entrapped whom, who scored more political points, who ended looking better or worse in the eyes of the electorate, etc.

The answer to all those questions is pretty obvious to the rest of the country. Neither of the two parties initiated the discussion; neither made any form of valid contribution once it got going; and both ended up contributing precisely nothing to the final outcome. In fact, as far as this particular issue is concerned, both Nationalist and Labour Parties may as well not even have existed.

Yet oh, look. Both are now trying to take credit for the decision. PN leader Simon Busuttil even had the nerve to do so literally: “The decision taken by the Parliamentary Committee to make the pill available was supported unanimously by PN MPs and was carried despite the opposition from some Labour MPs. It must be emphasized that had PN MPs not voted in favour, the MAP would not be available at all”. 

Really? It was thanks to Nationalist MPs, huh? So I guess Lara Dimitrijevic had nothing to do with it. You know, the chairperson of the Women’s Rights Foundation, and also the lawyer who filed the judicial process that kick-started the whole thing... while the PN was busy studiously ignoring the plight of Maltese women for decades. As for the 102 women who signed that protest – at the risk of stigmatising themselves in the eyes of a society that still clings to hopelessly unscientific views of the human reproductive system – they, too, were entirely incidental. 

According to the political party leader who couldn’t even answer the simplest question of them all – i.e., what is your own opinion? – it was the Nationalist Party, and no one else, which worked tirelessly day and night to ensure the availability of emergency contraception in Malta.

I guess I’m lucky I’m not a woman (the facial hair kind of gives it away, really). If that sort of insult were directed towards me, there’s no telling how I’d react...

Meanwhile, the Labour Party’s only interest in this affair, from day one, was to put Busuttil in the awkward position of having to appease both his conservative and liberal supporters at the same time. On a political level, I can’t say I really blame them. It’s like going to battle against an adversary that wears a great big bulls-eye on its helmet. Each and every time some sort of ‘moral’ dilemma pops up in this country – divorce, civil unions, euthanasia and now this – you can rest assured that the schizophrenic PN will be caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea: and that Labour will successfully exploit its discomfort in every conceivable way.

But again: who the hell cares if the PN ends up looking dismally stupid for the umpteenth time? Since when is that the only consideration, when discussing serious issues that have serious repercussions on other people? Can’t you ever play your silly little games without involving everyone else, too?

From this perspective, it is right and fitting that the ridiculous recommendations made by the parliamentary committee were so peremptorily ignored. In fact, the only question that remains unanswered is why Parliament even got to contribute to this discussion in the first place. 

From the very outset, there was widespread consensus that any decision concerning the morning-after pill – just like any other form of medication – should be taken by the Medicines Authority. Under Maltese law, that is the only designated authority that can authorise a pharmaceutical product for sale in Malta. If there is a legal impediment to grant that authorisation, it is up to the Medicines Authority to flag it. If the Medicines Authority authorises a product when there is doubt about its legality, there are legal channels to challenge its decision.

It’s all already taken care of, see? At no point, anywhere, does Parliament come into it. Otherwise, we would have Parliament debating whether to authorise the latest influenza vaccination each year... or the latest anti-fungal creams, diet pills or cough mixtures. The very idea that the House of Representatives should even think about meddling with such matters is in fact instantly laughable. On what basis should they intervene? Their profound, in-depth knowledge of pharmacology? 

If Parliament has a job to do, it is to draw up sensible laws that guide the Medicines Authority in making these decisions. In this instance, there was no need for any legislative amendment – the MA’s chair, Prof. Anthony Serracino Inglott, made this abundantly clear from the very start. MAP is not in conflict with any law. He said it loud, he said it clear. He even shouted it in our ear. The very least Parliament should have done under such circumstances was to acknowledge its own ignorance on this subject, and humbly bow out of the discussion altogether so that the experts can work in peace. 

To be perfectly frank, it would have been better that way even from the political parties’ point of view. When all is said and done: what good came of their involvement insofar as their own image is concerned? Those politicians who wanted to appeal to the pro-life brigade – i.e., the ones who wanted MAP to be banned altogether – ended up losing their trust. Not only did they fail to prevent emergency contraception from entering the country, but it ended up being available over the counter. 

Meanwhile, those who tried endearing themselves to all the women demanding emergency contraception, only ended up irritating them beyond measure. As for the ones who tried to do both at the same time... well, who even cares? They are about as relevant to any given issue as their contribution to this one turned out to be: i.e., ignored and laughed at by the entire country.

At this point, all that remains is to congratulate the people who really did work to make this important change happen. That is to say, Lara Dimitrijevic; the women who signed the judicial protest (and contributed in other ways)... and of course Prof. Serracino Inglott: who somehow managed to do his job without getting distracted by all the nonsense on the sidelines.

Everyone else (myself included)... get out of the group photo, please.