Outrage is not enough. Decriminalise abortion

There seems to be widespread consensus that a woman who has had an abortion should not be sent to prison. Even among those who oppose abortion, some argue against imprisonment despite agreeing that abortion should remain a criminal act.

Malta’s draconian anti-abortion law contemplates a prison term for both woman and doctor, who would have performed an abortion. Doctors also face the prospect of losing their warrant. The amendments enacted in 2023 only introduced a very limited exception to allow an abortion to take place if a woman’s life is in grave danger and left the criminal consequences untouched.

The issue was recast into the spotlight last week when a woman was handed down a suspended sentence by the court after admitting she had a medical abortion. The woman had sought medical treatment at Mater Dei Hospital in November last year after taking pills to terminate what was presumably an unwanted pregnancy.

The likeliness is that a member of the medical staff at hospital who treated her reported the matter to the police.

The woman was arraigned by summons and the magistrate handed down a 22-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

We now have a woman whose police conduct has been tarnished because she made use of a procedure that is perfectly legal across all EU countries but not her own.

Unfortunately, in these circumstances it is useless blaming the doctors, the police and the courts. The legislation is what it is and every single actor within this equation was acting fully within their obligations. The person or persons who reported the woman could have chosen not to do so but they would have been doing so in full knowledge that someone else could find out about the case and report them for failing to act.

It is the law that is wrong and the law can only be changed by parliament. This is why the onus of our outrage is directed at our members of parliament. They are the ones who have the power to change the law and prevent people like this woman from having to face a prison sentence.

Prime Minister Robert Abela has now promised piecemeal legal changes so that doctors will not be obliged to report women receiving medical treatment following complications from an abortion. It is too meek a step and will not solve the problem.

Indeed, tinkering with the Professional Secrecy Act risks giving women false hope and could lead to more legal complications. The latter is not a frivolous concern. When speaking about government’s intention to amend the law, Abela said doctors will not be obliged to report abortion cases unless with the explicit consent of the woman. Which woman would ever give consent to being prosecuted for her actions eludes us.

But the mere fact that Abela mentioned consent suggests that the changes could impinge on other criminal acts where doctors have an obligation to report if they suspect the person in front of them is a victim of a criminal act or abuse. With abortion, the person in front of them is the ‘perpetrator’ not the victim.

This is why we feel that amending the Professional Secrecy Act to avoid women from going to prison over an abortion is myopic and does not address the root cause—Malta’s draconian anti-abortion law.

Obviously, with such a change being contemplated, the devil will be in the detail and so far, all we have are the intentions of Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela and the prime minister.

But even so, such a change only covers medical professionals—the primary interest behind it is to protect doctors and nurses and not women seeking treatment after an abortion. It will not stop partners, hospital cleaners, and any other third parties from reporting the woman to the police with the ensuing consequence of imprisonment.

We understand that the government has no mandate to make abortion legal—something this newspaper supports—but nothing stops it from decriminalising the act so that no woman runs the risk of being sent to prison. Such a change would be more meaningful than tinkering with the Professional Secrecy Act.