Bartolo says government abortion bill ‘crusade’ creates more problems than solutions

Former Labour Minister Evarist Bartolo said Thursday that the Labour government’s “crusade” on abortion will create more problems than solutions.

In a post on Facebook, Bartolo said that a doctor had approached him to say that in his years as a medical practitioner, every time that there was a danger to the mother’s life, she had always been saved. This doctor is worried that, through the amendment being proposed by the government, it will be more difficult for doctors to do all that is possible to save the mother’s life.

Whatever the intentions may be, Bartolo said, does it make sense to put forward a solution that creates more problems? What is pushing the government to make such a move?

As things stand now, no doctor has ever been brought before the courts. This law was proposed to make things white or black instead of grey. But the grey will remain, Bartolo said. There will still be room for interpretation as to what constitutes a danger to the mother and what constitutes an abortion.

If things go south, a doctor will still remain open to prosecution, he said.

If we really want to seriously discuss abortion and answer difficult questions as to what happens when incest and rape take place, or when a woman with severe disabilities becomes pregnant, then we should open the discussion instead of rocking the country with an ill-thought move, Bartolo said.

Earlier this week, in another post on Facebook, Bartolo strongly hinted that the abortion issue could be the start of the downfall of the Labour Party.