Robert Abela is copying other countries’ laws which ultimately led to allowing abortion – Grech
Prime Minister Robert Abela is merely copying a law which other countries have already made, which led to abortion being allowed in those countries, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has said.
This is because they did not specify which health conditions constituted the right to an abortion, he added.
Speaking during the abortion law amendment debate in parliament, Grech accused government of wanting to fully open the doors for abortion, contrary to Abela’s insistent position against abortion in recent years.
Grech said that Abela wants to introduce abortion in Malta without having any mandate from the public to do so.
He said that each baby passes through four crucial moments, which are when the couple finds out they are pregnant, the duration of the pregnancy, the success of the birth and the treatment and upbringing of the baby after birth.
Grech mentioned the amendments to the IVF bill earlier this year, which gave more couples the opportunity to become parents. He said that laws were also passed which ensure the health of each baby and the mother.
He accused government of not looking out for the welfare of the baby in the womb, which is a crucial phase of development. Instead, government will want to stop life, he said.
“Robert Abela did not put forward laws which look out for health and quality of life,” he said. Grech said that more than 80 academics and experts are advising that the law be revised to ensure that there are no loopholes in the amendment.
The Group of 80 Experts had appealed to government to amend the law in Parliament to this: “No crime is committed under article 241(2) or article 243 when the death or bodily harm of an unborn child results from a medical intervention conducted with the aim of saving the life of the mother where there is a real and substantial risk of loss of the mother’s life from a physical illness.”
Grech said that if he wants to introduce abortion in Malta he should say so clearly, and if not, he should adopt the proposal put forward by the aforementioned experts.
He said that no mother or doctor has been prosecuted during a doctor’s intervention to abort the baby to save a mother’s life. Grech said that government is following the footsteps of the United Kingdom, which does not explain or distinguish the risk the mother would be in.
Grech said that this led to the killing of almost a quarter of a million babies through an abortion.
He went on to say that mental health issues did not justify the killing of a baby, but rather meant that the mother should be provided with the adequate support for her problems. Grech said that there is no guarantee that a mother’s mental health would improve after aborting the baby.
Grech accused Abela of being partisan and rushing to amend the law after the Andrea Prudente case. He reiterated statements made by other PN members who said that Prudente was never in any risk of losing her life.
"I have never even heard of this babymoon... but there she was calling it a baby as well! She wanted an abortion, despite our doctors treating her in a prudent way."
He appealed for government to give more aid to mental health NGOs, and to once again start giving financial aid to Richmond Foundation to run their 24/7 mental health helpline alongside the government’s own helpline.
“The solution is being given on a silver plate,” Grech said, referring to the proposal made by the group of experts.
In a short reaction statement, the Labour Party described Grech’s speech as not only “contradictory, confused and built on falsehoods” but also as “insensitive, and one which shows someone not capable of elevating himself above partisanism to speak about such a sensitive topic.”
PN Leader Bernard Grech has come under fire for appearing to mock US woman Andrea Prudente's pregnancy, with Prime Minister Robert Abela deeming it misogynistic.
During a debate on proposed amendments to the country’s strict anti-abortion law on Wednesday, Grech was seen using harsh words and a play on words, saying that Abela should be “prudenti,” playing on the similarity of the word with the US woman's surname.
He also mocked her reason for coming to Malta, which was that she had travelled more than 20 hours to celebrate her babymoon, a concept he had never heard of.
Grech had said that the nation would become heartless if abortion was introduced, and that history would remember Abela as the Prime Minister who introduced abortion with no mandate.
Abela’s reaction was that he had never heard such a shocking speech.
“I was crystal clear that the amendment we are implementing is not introducing abortion,” Abela said.
He labelled Grech’s speech misogynistic and derogatory towards women, especially in light of the recent murder of Bernice Cassar.
“Surely the opposition cannot say that it is in favour of women’s rights when we have an Opposition Leader who speaks in that way in Parliament. I was very shocked,” Abela said.