[WATCH] President non-committal on abortion amendment, says he will wait for final wording

President George Vella has remained non-committal as to whether he will sign into law amendments to Malta’s abortion legislation.

“There are thousands of possibilities, we’ll see once the amendments are finalised,” he told the media on Wednesday.

Last Monday, parliament concluded the Second Reading of a Bill decriminalising abortion if woman's health or life is at stake. The vote on the Bill will be held next Monday, and 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.

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.

He also made a brief reference to the amendment in his Republic Day speech on Tuesday, expressing hope that ongoing discussions on the decriminalisation of abortion if a woman’s health or life is at risk will address all concerns.

Questioned on the matter on Wednesday, Vella said it is up to the government to present the amendment in front of parliament, and after it is analysed at committee stage, and presented to him, can he make a decision.

“I don’t comment on ‘ifs’, there are thousands of possibilities, and so we have to see once the amendments are finalised,” Vella said when questioned on what he would be doing should the amendment be presented to him. “It is still early.”

He was also asked whether he would exclude being abroad when the amendment is presented to him, in a similar situation to when amendments to the IVF law were approved by parliament. Vella reiterated that he will wait for the final draft of the law.

Parliament approved legislation allowing pre-implantation genetic testing on embryos for inheritable diseases on 6 July, but Vella did not sign the act into law immediately as required by the Constitution. The President had expressed moral objections to the introduction of PGT. However, it was left to Acting President Frank Bezzina to give his assent to the act, just as Vella travelled to Birmingham.