Pro-choice activists return to Valletta in call for decriminalisation of abortion

Women and pro-choice activists this week will demonstrate in Valletta in the annual abortion rights rally, in a renewed call for reproductive justice led by the Voice for Choice coalition.

The coalition says 500 women in Malta last year carried out an abortion through the use of pills, consumed in their homes.

“In doing so, they broke the law – just as 1,500 others have over the past eight years. These women acted in secret, fearful of prosecution, of being judged, and even of imprisonment. Others travelled abroad, where they didn’t break any laws, yet still live in fear of revealing their decision, even to their closest friends and family,” Voice for Choice spokesperson Christine Cassar said.

“But some of these women are ready to break the silence. They no longer wish to hide. They want to share their stories, to show their faces, and speak their truths without shame. They’ve asked pro-choice advocates for support, and many of us—women and people who can become pregnant—stand with them in solidarity.”

Demonstrators in Valletta will demand the decriminalisation of abortion as a healthcare right. “It is necessary. No woman should be turned into a criminal for taking care of herself. It’s time to decriminalise abortion in Malta,” Cassar said.

“This is a message to our politicians: you cannot continue to ignore us. We are your constituents, and you have a responsibility to us as citizens and residents of Malta.”

According to research conducted in Malta and published internationally, the average person who has had an abortion in Malta is 29 years old, and often, she is already a mother.

“We are no longer afraid to speak out. We refuse to be shamed, judged, or threatened for making decisions about our own lives. Instead of being criminalised, we believe we deserve compassion and understanding,” Cassar said.