Everyone of us wants to be happy. There is nothing as merry as living a life without a lot of blows.

In fact, the history of the human race might well be considered as the never-ending story of a long and arduous quest for happiness, but unfortunately the latter remains an elusive object.

Worry, fear, anxiety are the most unproductive of all human activities. We all fear the unknown but when the unknown comes to pass then we realise that life is not all roses.

Bogged down by the frustration of unhappiness in one’s life will not help matters. It’s indeed a woman of substance whose own traumatic experience led her to make a poignant speech in Parliament on 21 March that should shake other women to take action and be behind Justyne Caruana.

To state that by writing about the subject is re-opening old wounds is a fallacy. Wounds remain with you till the day you die. They may fade but they will never leave one’s heart. Ms Caruana lost her baby in the early stages of pregnancy like many women before her and no doubt after her. In such cases, the dead foetus is sent to a laboratory where after it is strongly sealed and marked with the parent’s names, on 1 November all are buried in one grave at the Addolorata Cemetery.

Apparently the Health Department does not oppose a decent and normal burial in the family grave. But the law lays down that no death

certificate can be issued. Obviously, with no certificate there is no decent burial. This needs to be changed.

Those who oppose abortion like I do believe that a baby is alive in its mother’s womb. That child is as precious to the mother as if it were one, two or three years of age.

Denying the right to a death certificate and having a mass burial of foetuses is heart-wrenching to all mothers.

And then, why should Gozitans have to come over to Malta to visit the place where their dead child is buried?

As far as I am concerned this policy should be amended as soon as possible. Surely a death certificate should be issued and a decent burial should be allowed to a dead baby immaterial of the months he/she “lived” in the mother’s belly.

Respect for the dead means even respect for an unborn child. My prayers are with you, Justyne!

Valerie Borg

Valletta