PL Deputy Leader Says Malta Should Stop Sweeping Abortion Problem Under The Rug
Labour’s new deputy leader for party affairs has come out strongly in favour of a mature debate on abortion, warning that ignoring problems brought about by the taboo nature of the topic will only aggravate them.
“No matter what your opinion is, and this is a very delicate and emotional topic, a society’s reality won’t be affected by whether we debate it or not,” Daniel Micallef wrote.
“We can disagree with abortion but those who want to get one will still get one. We’re currently exporting these realities and acting as though we have a clean conscience.”
“I believe that the lack of debate is turning these realities into taboos and forcing women to confront their problems in isolation.”
“It’s easy to judge, but the longer this issue remains a taboo, the worse the problems will grow, just like sweeping dust under a rug.”
Malta is one of the last countries on the planet with a blanket ban on abortion. And while the issue is still widely considered taboo, the debate has geared up in the last two years.
UK-based charity Abortion Support Network recently said they’ve helped a total of 87 women in Malta terminate their pregnancies this year, already exceeding last year’s total of 75.
Micallef urged people to stop judging women who get an abortion but instead ask why they are getting one in the first place and whether society could have helped them more
“If you had to ask me, I’d rather live in a country where abortion is legal but no one gets one, because we’d have strong support systems and we’d have discarded the gross prejudices.”
“It doesn’t mean that I agree with it or that I see anything positive in abortion.”
“A mature society isn’t scared of discussing anything, irrespective of our individual opinions. A debate doesn’t mean you’re in favour or against something; that’s a childish stance that kills debates before they can begin.”
“Meanwhile, the PL’s stance on the subject [against abortion] is clear and hasn’t changed.”
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On Friday, Labour MEP and former Prime Minister Alfred Sant called for an end to the shaming of pro-choice people as “outsider and heartless monsters.”
“This minority [of pro-choice people] includes many people with strong moral, ethical, professional and social values, and they’re also in the European political and cultural mainstream.”
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