As the belief goes, abortion does not occur in Malta and, therefore, neither does ‘unsafe’ abortion. Women, it is believed, visit reliable clinics overseas and are therefore not at risk.
The perception is wrong on two counts. Not all women are able to go overseas and not all can afford to visit reliable clinics. Some do go away but use clinics that are not quite state of the art and may pose a degree of risk to the health and safety of the patient.
Others – rarely – may even opt for some intervention here in Malta, which is illegal by definition and therefore not open to scrutiny by health authorities, says Pierre Portelli in an article on the new magazine, ALIVE, which is being distributed with The Malta Independent on Sunday today.
One of a girl’s worst nightmares is to find out she is pregnant. After days of worrying whether her period is late or if the contraception worked, her worst fears are confirmed. Her whole life changes from that moment in time and she has to start taking difficult decisions.
Informing her parents and partner is one of the first obstacles – considering whether she can continue her education and pursue a career or whether the child will place her under further financial constraints are few of the many things that come to mind.
Abortion is not an option in Malta. It does not mean some do not try. If the girl is lucky enough to come from a well-to-do family she can be sent to an abortion clinic abroad. Locally, it is difficult to state whether abortion takes place as it is very well hidden. A local obstetrician told this paper she regularly received requests to terminate unwanted pregnancies and that these requests mainly came from young, unmarried women. There were a few instances when married women did not want to continue an unplanned pregnancy but these were rare.
Extreme care is taken in handling these situations. She discusses the physical and legal aspects of the situation with the client – the moral aspects are already known. She does not help the patient in anyway to terminate – either by suggesting names or contacts. The best thing to do, she said, is to stay out of the situation and simply help the woman understand the full implications of her decision.
Although she said a substantial number of women do go abroad to have an abortion, personally she did not come across any cases of abortion carried out in Malta, except for those discussed in the media.
There is no doctor or patient who can hide behind the excuse of ignorance as everyone knows what Maltese law states about abortion. It has been discussed in the media countless times and it always sparks a heated debate. However she pointed out that “everyone has to carry the weight of their decisions”.
The adults would have made the decision to have consentient sex and know what the possible consequences are. If a doctor decides to terminate an abortion, both the patient and the doctor are equally to blame.
Legally, abortion is defined as procuring miscarriage through any means whatsoever whether it is through violence, medication, surgery and so on.
The woman is answerable when she is consentient – if she is coerced into having an abortion she is not answerable to the law. However, if the woman consents, she will receive the same sentence as the person who was involved in the termination – the sentence is a minimum of 18 months to a maximum of three years.
When the woman is coerced, the termination is a result of grievous bodily harm. If a pregnant woman is harmed and the pregnancy is affected in such a way that either the delivery is hastened before its time or a miscarriage is caused, then the crime falls under the charge of grievous bodily harm.
If the delivery is hastened then the person responsible may be imprisoned for a minimum of three months to a maximum of three years. On the other hand, if a miscarriage is caused then the person involved can be imprisoned for a minimum of nine months to a maximum of nine years.
Grievous bodily harm is often a result of domestic violence when either the family or the partner attempts to get rid of the unborn child. In this case, the woman is not held responsible.
Abortion can also take place through medication. This is one of the reasons why contraceptive pills are usually sold subject to a prescription. It is only the ingestion of several pills at one go that may cause an abortion.
Sources in the sector also said that the use of the morning-after pill is still unclear in the eyes of the Maltese law. A doctor can be charged if he knowingly prescribes any means to miscarriage – including the morning-after pill. However it all depends on when the morning-after pill was in fact administered, as the scientific debate goes.
If the morning-after pill was taken to prevent conception then in the eyes of the law there is no crime but if the pill is taken after conception then both the woman and the doctor are liable – whether the pill was taken knowingly or unknowingly at the time of conception.
Of course it is extremely difficult to prove that it was taken after conception. This theory is not used in court as it is virtually impossible to prove.
The rate of single mothers in Malta is increasing every year. Although the majority accept and raise their child, some opt for another alternative. Perhaps a further effort should be made to increase awareness on the different methods of contraception available as there are still many who play with fire.