Pro-life lobby dubs Farrugia law ‘blatant attempt to introduce abortion’

Malta’s pro life lobby Life Network Foundation has called MP Marlene Farrugia’s bid to decriminalise penalties for women and medical professionals who terminate pregancies, as “a blatant attempt to introduce abortion into Malta, allowing every pregnancy to be terminated by a mother or medical professional, and the baby in the womb destroyed.”

Life Network said it strongly objected to the bill proposing the decriminalization of abortion, arguing that decriminalisation of an act “is a declaration that the act is permissible, and worse still, acceptable.”

It would also lead to abortion being unregulated and open to abuse, the lobby, led by dentist Miriam Sciberras, said. “Every baby in the womb will be in danger of being destroyed, at any moment, by its parents or even just by its mother. It is significant that anyone who speaks in favour of abortion was born because his mother did not destroy him.”

The LFN argued that the fundamental right to life was enshrined in the Maltese Constitution and can never depend on the will of the mother. “Maltese law also recognizes the unborn child as a recipient of certain civil rights,” LFN said, saying the Bill caused inconsistency between criminal and civil law, and The bill also goes against the Embryo Protection Act which protects human life from conception, at its early stage.

The Life Network Foundation asserted that “no political party, much less an individual MP has an electoral mandate to introduce abortion in Malta today.”

It appealed to the leaders of the country to continue to protect human life and fight all threats to it, calling on deputies in the House of Representatives to remain loyal to their principles, their mandate “and to choose life and not death.”

“So far two statements have emerged from political parties. The PN statement is clear and against the decriminalization of abortion. The PL, while reiterating that it is pro-life and anti- abortion, has not made a statement against its decriminalization. We hope that in the coming days such statements will become clearer in the interest of the protection of babies in the womb.”