Jonathan Attard on abortion amendment: 'Whether a woman lives or not is not up to public opinion'

Government's proposal to decriminalise abortion if a woman's health or life is at risk will clear the Second Reading stage in parliament next Monday when MPs vote on the Bill.

The vote will pave the way for the committee stage when the Bill is dissected by MPs and amendments are considered. However, this stage will be held after the Christmas recess.

On Monday, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard concluded the debate at Second Reading stage, insisting that the amendment to the Criminal Code will not be introducing abortion through the backdoor.

“When the foetus is viable, and can live independently, the amendments we are discussing today will not come into action,” he told the House.

The Labour government proposed an amendment to the Criminal Code last October that would indemnify mothers and doctors who terminate a pregnancy because of a medical intervention to save the woman's life or protect her health from grave danger.

The parliamentary discussion started three weeks ago and saw a number of government ministers and MPs, as well as the majority of Opposition MPs addressing the issue.

Concluding the debate, Attard slammed the Opposition for promoting a culture of “stigmas” and “division”.

“They want to continue living a lie, as long as their conscience is clean,” Attard said. “We saw a number of malicious and irresponsible statements by the Opposition and most notably Bernard Grech. They want the status quo.”

Attard insisted the amendment protects the fundamental right to life of women. “The amendment is inspired by the need to protect women’s lives.”

“It is our responsibility to stop this hypocrisy. Whether a woman lives or not is not up to public opinion,” Attard said.

The Justice Minister mentioned the case of a Peruvian girl, who at a very tender age had become pregnant. The Peruvian government was found guilty of breaching her fundamental right, after her prolonged pregnancy created a substantial risk to her physical and mental health.

“She needed a medical intervention to her spinal cord, but because she was pregnant, doctors did not want to operate on her. Because the operation was carried out three months later, she ended up paralyzed for the rest of her life,” Attard said.

He said the government will not allow these situations to happen in Malta. “We do not live in a parallel universe, and these cases can happen in our country as well.”

Attard insisted the decision will be taken by medical professionals, and not by the mother, and therefore it could not be equated to abortion.

“We have no issue with trusting our medical professionals,” he said.

He said the amendment will “crystalise” what has already happened over the years. “Life remains a priority, it is an amendment which allows our medical professionals to intervene without worrying about legal repercussions. Why should we drag women and medical professionals through legal trouble?”

‘We will continue to fight against abortion’ - Chris Said

Opening the discussion on Monday, Opposition MP Chris Said said the Labour Party is not being honest on trying to introduce abortion.

He quoted former Labour deputy leader Joe Brincat, who said government will be introducing abortion into the country. “Even former high-ranking members of the Labour Party are saying what we are saying. Despite our minority, we will continue to fight against the introduction of abortion in the country,” he concluded.

A vote on the amendment will be held on Monday 19 December before parliament shuts down for the Christmas recess.

Government has suggested it is willing to tweak the proposal but has insisted that the principles to protect both a woman's life and her health will remain untouched.

It is an open secret that President George Vella has intimated that he will resign rather than sign on the law if the amendment is approved by parliament. But with the final stages happening after the Christmas period, Vella has been spared the embarrassment of resigning at a time when he will be captaining the national charity telethon L-Istrina.

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