Don’t use disability to slam abortion, activist tells pro-lifers

Author and activist Lara Calleja has called for disabled people to be included more in the abortion debate, saying disability is often used in arguments against abortion. 

“Not in my name”, Calleja told MaltaToday, objecting to the use of disabled people as an argument against abortion. 

She said people sought abortions for many different reasons and emphasised that disabled people needed to be part of that discussion themselves. 

She said disability was often raised in arguments against abortion, including when discussing a foetus with a disability. Her objection was to disabled people being used to support those arguments without their own views being heard. 

Her comments followed a Facebook exchange beneath a MaltaToday interview with pro-choice doctor Joanna Delia.

The Voice for Choice Coalition condemned comments it said linked Calleja’s physical impairment to her support for abortion decriminalisation. 

But Calleja said the pro-choice movement also needed greater inclusion. She described it as a movement that continued to evolve, rather than blaming it for gaps in representation. 

That representation, she said, needed to give disabled people space to express their own political views. Their involvement should extend beyond being asked to speak about disability itself. 

Her call also went beyond abortion. Calleja said that in general there needed to be greater representation of disabled people in boarder political discussions.   

Calleja also said she did not identify with the term disability, while acknowledging that she fell within that category.  

Turning to the Facebook exchange, Calleja said the central issue was a judgement about her based on her appearance. She described personal insults on Facebook as common and criticised the lack of accountability. 

In a written response to David Vella, she said he had associated her with infanticide on the basis of how she looked, using the words “one look at her”. 

Vella denied referring to particular physical characteristics. In a separate comment, he said he had been targeting what he described as her “woke” activist appearance. 

He acknowledged describing her as psychologically and spiritually broken and said he held that view of all pro-choice supporters because of their defence of abortion. 

Calleja, however, said the issue remained the association he had made between her appearance and infanticide, regardless of whether the comment concerned disability. 

She also challenged his basis for judging her psychological state, saying the discussion had shifted away from the original point towards labels about her identity and beliefs. 

Calleja told MaltaToday she would have accepted an apology but said the exchange had instead continued with insults against people who defended her. 

She said those who found the comment offensive included people who were neither her friends nor pro-choice. Her post was public, she pointed out, rejecting the suggestion that objections came only from her usual circle. 

The Voice for Choice Coalition said the attacks reflected wider prejudice surrounding disability, sexuality and reproductive rights. 

“A woman’s impairment is not a counterargument to her views. Using it to discredit her is ableist and sexist,” the coalition said. 

It said disabled people were sexual beings, partners and parents with the same rights to autonomy, dignity and bodily integrity. 

The coalition pledged to support Calleja if she chose to pursue legal action and said disabled people must be included in the campaign for reproductive rights. 

It also pledged to continue demanding safe, accessible and legal abortion, alongside comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare free from stigma and discrimination.