In response to the proposed amendment to the law that would legalize abortion in case of a threat to the mother’s life, as many as 20,000 people (4% of Malta’s population) took to the streets in support of the country’s pro-life laws. Also, 24,000 people signed a petition asking the Maltese government to reject the proposed amendment and instead adopt an alternative one, drafted by 80 leaders and academics in medicine, law and ethics.
According to Lifesitenews, Malta’s current laws protect the right to life of preborn children while also ensuring that mothers receive the medical care they need, resulting in zero maternal mortalities in the last 10 years. Physicians in Malta are protected by law in extraordinary cases where they act to save the life of a mother, but their actions result in the death of a preborn child.
If passed, the proposed abortion bill would permit abortion for non-life threatening reasons, and open the door to abortion on demand, as explained by Dr Callum Miller.
Dr. Miriam Sciberras, chairman of the Life Network Foundation, said that “If the Bill becomes law, Malta will go from being the only country in Europe with full protection for the unborn child to legalizing abortion. We are calling on the government to urgently change the wording of the bill to adopt the recommended changes outlined in the expert position paper by leading medics, lawyers, ethicists, and academics.”
In addition to the Life Network Foundation, the bill was also condemned by 81 academics, 450 doctors, 44 institutions, the Medical Association of Malta and the Maltese Association of Psychiatry, reports Lifesitenews.
For the sake of a reminder, Maltese President George Vella, a former physician, has repeated several times that he would never sign a bill authorizing the murder of children. When asked if he thought there were cases in which abortion should be permissible, he responded, “You have either killed or not killed, there can be no half death. I’m very clear, there are no ifs and buts.”
Let us step up our prayers for the only country in Europe that fully protects unborn babies in hope that Malta remains a bulwark against the tidal wave of the culture of death that seeks to destroy the most sacred bond there is–the one between the mother and her child.