Legal abortion will come to Malta 'one day', President Spiteri Debono says

The introduction of legal abortion in Malta will happen one day and the issue should be put to a referendum, according to the President of the Republic, Myriam Spiteri Debono.  

Spiteri Debono made her prediction in an interview with radio host Andrew Azzopardi on RTK earlier on Saturday.

“Regardless of whether it will happen 8, 10, or 20 years from now, yes I believe that abortion will eventually be introduced,” she told Azzopardi.

The President said she had had many conversations with young people, some of them regular churchgoers, who still believed that abortion should be introduced in Malta, where terminating a pregnancy which doesn’t put the mother’s life at risk is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years. Until last year, it was illegal without exception.

Spiteri Debono told the interviewer that abortion should not “come in through the air vent in an electoral manifesto,” and opined that the decision on whether or not to do so should be made through a referendum.

Amongst the topics discussed during the wide-ranging interview, Spiteri Debono was asked about the local construction industry, stating that it was her belief that the sector should be better regulated and that the recommendations of the Sofia inquiry be implemented.

On the topic of Gozo, the President expressed her desire to conduct an official visit, adding that she would try to visit Malta’s sister island every month, as well as schools and hospitals.

Regarding women’s rights, the President stressed the “foundational”  importance of women’s financial independence, while noting how these rights had changed over the past 50 years.