Well, well, well, what a stir that caused. Many people thought I was mad for tackling a topic like abortion in such a public and head on way, and perhaps I was, but I am certainly glad I did. Whilst the AD took a stand, and over 3000 of you shared my article, it is about time that more people stood up and said what they believed in without fearing the consequences.

Of course, there were quite a few consequences to my piece. Firstly, let me say thank you to all of you that took the time out of your lives to abuse my family and me with threats of violence (shout out to the woman who said she wished my mother had been raped so she could have aborted me). You will be devastated to hear that it does not bother me in the slightest. This happens with many of my articles when I write about and criticise the attitude of “go back to your own country”, or talk about people who are abused because they have different beliefs or dare to air them. I often write about a backwards mentality that seeks to abuse people who are progressive in their thoughts or actions, and every time I write about it, the very people I speak about dutifully turn up in their droves to perfectly illustrate my point.

The rest of the consequences were positive. I was inundated with messages of support from, quite literally, over 100 local women. These ranged from those who believe in body autonomy, to those who are conflicted but believe someone else’s choice isn’t their business, to those women who told me their stories of travelling abroad to have abortions, and to those who went through horrific backstreet abortions in Malta itself. Some of the stories I heard were harrowing tales of abuse, control, and assault at the hands of family or partners, and others who were terrified of being disowned by the society due to becoming pregnant outside of marriage. Nearly all of them agreed with the need for more education on sex and reproduction, as well as easier access to contraception – valid points that most pitchfork holders conveniently glossed over in my previous article.

One of the most interesting things I noticed from the abusive comments on the article was that the most vociferous, violent-tongued, and abusive protestors were men, closely followed by women over 50. I find a strange sense of irony in the fact that the most anti-pro-choice extremists are those that are unable to carry children themselves. I can only imagine that their inability to partake in the debate from a practical point of view leads to immense frustration and anger, which in turn results in an illiterate outpouring of nonsensical insults on social media platforms. Of course, when it comes to the men who are so quick to call women murderers, harlots, and whores and demand that we “keep our legs shut” as if they have no part in the process, they are no doubt the misogynistic type that feel totally emasculated by the thought that a woman can decide without them.

Of course, to reply to all the comments arguments raised would be totally futile because the majority were completely illogical or indecipherable, but there were a few that popped up quite a lot and I wanted to take a moment to answer them here.

“What if your mother had aborted you, how would you feel then?” Well, firstly I wouldn’t know anything about it as I would not exist (I can’t believe I must explain that), and secondly as anyone with any ounce of understanding would be able to comprehend, I would completely support her decision to do what she thinks is right for her and her body– even at the cost of me existing.

“If you don’t want to have a baby, don’t have sex”. Oh, if it really was that simple. There are many ways that a woman or girl becomes pregnant, e.g. failed contraception, rape, incest, controlling behaviour, illness, or even a simple mistake. There are a million different ways that a woman can find herself in a situation where she is pregnant against her will, and as such, there should be various solutions available for her to handle it.

“It is murder/you are murdering a human being/you are murdering a person.” No, I am not. Firstly, I am not murdering anyone as, personally, I wouldn’t have an abortion and I don’t believe it is murder, but I would never seek to force my view on someone else who is in a different situation to me. Secondly, a foetus that is a few weeks old is not a person. Nor is it a human being. Nor does it have any rights in terms of ones that could in any way come close to those of the pregnant woman. There is a reason that we do not have funerals for miscarriages, there is a reason why foetuses do not vote, and there is a reason why they are not legally recognised as a human being because they are not. Yes, they could potentially develop into one over the next nine months, but at this early stage, they are nothing more than an unconscious mass of cells and their supposed “rights” under no circumstances trump that of a woman who is old enough to conceive a child.

I am under no illusion that the voicing of my views will result in further outrage, hatred, and derogatory comments but as I said, it just further reinforces my point that the majority of these people are raging hypocrites. You claim to love life and put its sanctity above all else, yet in the same breath you condemn, threaten, and wish death upon women who would consider abortion, or those that stand up and voice the opinion that we should have a right to choose.

The fact of the matter is that despite both parties claiming that they will never legalise abortion, the likelihood is that it is only a matter of time before they follow suit with the rest of the civilised world. The pressure from women, activists, and the critical eyes of other countries looking at this backward and draconian law will soon become something that the government no longer wants to deal with. Considering its progress in so many other areas of body politics, believe me, the time for women to have full autonomy over their bodies is drawing nearer.