Five pregnancies terminated under Malta’s amended abortion laws

Five abortions have been carried out since the law was amended to allow the termination of pregnancy when a woman’s life is at risk, the Health Ministry confirmed. 

Abortion remains illegal and punishable by prison but in 2023 parliament approved changes that introduced the limited exception. 

In response to MaltaToday’s inquiry about the number of terminations performed since the law change, a Health Ministry spokesperson confirmed that “[...] five incidents in total occurred where the mother’s life was at risk”. 

“To ensure patient safety, at least three consultants were involved in each case,” the spokesperson added. 

MaltaToday also asked the ministry to provide the specific medical conditions that contributed to the decision to approve the terminations. However, the spokesperson declined to comment.  

Amendments to Malta’s restrictive abortion law were first announced in 2022. Originally, Bill 28 had proposed introducing two exceptions that would allow an abortion to take place – if a woman’s health was at risk, including her mental health, and if her life was in grave jeopardy. 

Following public outcry, the government withdrew the exception related to health, keeping only the non-controversial part related to the protection of life. The decision placated the concerns of conservative voices but disappointed pro-choice campaigners, who had hoped for a breakthrough. 

Prof. Isabel Stabile, who was interviewed by this paper at the beginning of March, expressed disappointment on behalf of the Voice for Choice coalition regarding the exclusion of health. “We were very disappointed, as we made considerable efforts, and we believed we were being listened to,” she said. “We thought our politicians were hearing our advice because our advice was coming from the ground.” 

Furthermore, Stabile expressed her disagreement with the inclusion of a “medical team” to decide on terminations. According to the law, the medical team must consist of two gynaecologists or obstetricians, one of whom would be the professional to carry out the termination, and a third specialist in the field related to the health issue affecting the woman. 

“Quite often, this is an emergency situation. So, finding three doctors who will agree with you, or finding two other doctors, rather, who will agree with you that it is time to do this and it’s time to do it right now, might actually be dangerous,” Stabile had said. 

Moreover, she had said the reality is that doctors in Malta were already performing abortions, just under a different name. “They called them something else, but that’s neither here nor there. But those were abortions, and they were being done under their own auspices, you know, as part of good medical practice. So, removing that ability for doctors to make a decision for themselves, I think, is really rather demeaning to the profession.” 

EU Commission to discuss response to abortion petition 

Meanwhile, MaltaToday is informed that the European Commission will shortly be discussing how to respond after it received a petition with one million signatures calling for safe access to abortion in the European Union. 

The citizens’ initiative My Voice, My Choice has been advocating for safe and accessible abortion in the EU. 

The College of Commissioners will be meeting and is obliged to issue a response given that the petition secured 1 million signatures across the bloc and exceeded the required thresholds in 15 countries – more than double the necessary seven. 

The initiative, led by the 8th of March Institute, a Slovenian non-profit organisation for gender equality, calls on the European Commission to propose concrete measures ensuring that all EU citizens, regardless of nationality or residence, have access to safe and legal abortion services. 

Malta is the only EU member state where abortion is illegal. Nonetheless, abortion remains a national competence and any EU-wide legislation would require unanimity.

Correction: An earlier version stated that the abortion amendment became law in 2024. The amendment had been proposed in 2022 and became law in 2023.