Pro-choice organisations: Misogyny by certain politicians during abortion amendment ‘disgraceful’

Pro-choice organisations have called on parliamentarians to vote in favour of a legal amendment to allow for abortions when the woman’s life and health is at stake.

“Voting for the Bill, as it is, with no tweaks, is the very minimum our parliamentarians can do for women in this country,” the organisations said outside parliament on Monday afternoon.

Today parliament will be voting on the amendment, after the second reading debate was concluded last week.

Looking back at the parliamentary debate, they said they are “revolted” with some of the things that were said by politicians in the House.

“The quality of political debate in our country is already low, but somehow, some of our parliamentarians managed to drag it down to even lower. The misogyny, the disrespect, the mockery of a woman who lived through a terrible experience caused by our laws is nothing short of disgraceful,” they said, in clear reference to a speech by Opposition leader Bernard Grech.

Grech ridiculed Andrea Prudente, who had to be airlifted to Spain to terminate her unviable pregnancy while on holiday in Malta.

In a belittling tone, and without using her name, Grech said in Parliament that she was never in danger of dying.

“This pregnant American woman travelled more than 20 hours to celebrate her ‘baby moon’ in Malta. I never heard of a baby moon, but she called it a baby as well. She wanted an abortion, despite our doctors treating her well and in a prudent way. Her baby moon ended when she went to Spain by air ambulance and then she sued the Maltese state,” he said.

The organisations said the law being debated is not only about Andrea Prudente, but about protecting the health and lives of women in Malta.

“By mocking Prudente, they ridiculed every woman and girl in our country. Again, this is shameful,” they said. “Bill 28 is nothing but the very basic recognition that women’s lives matter, even if only in very dangerous circumstances. Opposing the bill or demanding that it be watered down, is to show disdain for women in this country and throw them under a bus for short term political gain.”

“What is sad is that even if the bill is implemented in its proposed form, Malta’s fame of being the worst country in Europe in how it treats pregnant women will be untarnished. Victims of rape and incest will still be forced to carry their pregnancies to term, women will still be forced to give birth to children just to watch them die and hundreds of our sisters and our daughters will still be criminalised for buying pills online and self-managing their abortions. That is something that some in this building are proud of.”

Voice for Choice concluded by saying that voting yes for the amendment would be a clear sign that politicians care for women in the country.

The Nationalist Party has already declared that its MPs will be voting against the amendment.