58 women from Malta had abortions in England and Wales last year, according to a table published by Doctors for Choice Malta.
“When women can’t get healthcare in their own country: 58 women from Malta had abortions in England and Wales last year. That’s more than one a week,” the Doctors for Choice Malta statement read. The number does not include the number of women who have had ordered abortion pills online, or those who had abortions in other countries.
It is still illegal to have an abortion in Malta.
Earlier this year, Doctors for Choice warned that due to the COVID-19 travel bans will increase barriers for women in Malta who seek abortions.
“The need to travel to access safe abortion has always been a barrier to women in Malta, and the current travel restrictions further highlight the fact that Malta’s reproductive health care is lacking in this regard,” the pro-choice group had stated. The same pro-life group has flagged Facebook pages which have tried to sell unauthorised abortion pills in Malta.
From the table published, 375 women from the Irish Republic had abortions in England and Wales. Abortion services began in the Republic of Ireland on 1 January 2019, which followed the legalisation of the Act in December 2018.