Church survey finds 80% agree with abortion when ‘woman’s life is in danger’

A Church-commissioned survey has revealed that 80% of respondents to a Misco poll are in agreement with the termination of a pregnancy “in circumstances where a woman’s life is in danger.”

The survey among 800 respondents was publicised by the Maltese archdiocese, and published a day after the Maltese parliament voted in a historic first to tweak Malta’s abortion ban by sending the Bill to committee stage.

21% of respondents to the survey also said they agreed with abortion as “a means of limiting the size of a family, irrespective of whether a mother’s health or life is at risk.”

The survey did not ask respondents whether they agreed with abortion when the mother’s health is endangered, which is what the proposed amendment of the Criminal Code seeks to address.

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But 70% said they are opposed to abortion “if the pregnancy does not place the mother’s life at risk.”

Respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagree with abortion in the following circumstances: when the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother; when the pregnancy does not endanger the life of the mother; and when the mother does not wish to have more children.

With regard to the question of abortion in cases where a woman’s life “is not at risk”, a radical difference was noted in gender with 58% of women only, versus 78% of men expressing themselves against.

The Church also said that opposition to abortion “increases significantly in the categories above 24 years of age”, a trend noticed in previous MaltaToday surveys.

An amendment to the criminal code to allow for abortions when the woman’s life and health is at stake has passed to the committee stage in parliament.

The bill passed with all 42 Labour MPs voting in favour and 34 Nationalist MPs voting against.

The Labour government’s bill was the subject of heated debate in recent weeks. An anti-abortion march in Valletta attracted thousands of people, including Nationalist Party politicians, members of the clergy, and other personalities like River of Love pastor Gordon Manche. 

The main concern, as brought up by a group of academics, was that the definition of ‘health’ in the bill was too wide and would include mental health as grounds for abortion. 

This was shot down by Health Minister Chris Fearne and Abela himself, who both argued that the health of the mother should be a priority in the amendment. 

Now, the bill will be discussed in parliament’s Consideration of Bills committee, where the amendment will be discussed in more legal detail.