The government has announced plans to introduce a legal amendment that will allow doctors to terminate a pregnancy when a woman's life is in danger, or her health is at serious risk.

Health Minister Chris Fearne said that only in these cases, through the legal amendment, the doctor and mother would no longer face jail time. He said that there will not be any changes to the current clauses in the law, but rather that an additional clause will be introduced to put the aforementioned into effect. The bill will be tabled in Parliament on Monday.

This news comes following a summer incident when an American woman, Andrea Prudente, was denied an abortion after she was going through a miscarriage and her life was at risk. She eventually had an abortion in Spain.

Fearne began by saying that this amendment is "pro-life".

Fearne consulted with the State Advocate who identified two clauses in the criminal code that preclude or stop doctors from doing their jobs and saving lives. One of the two clauses could see a doctor imprisoned for 18 months to 4 years and be subject to perpetual interdiction from the exercise of his profession for carrying out an abortion under any circumstance. The other clause would see a mother who consents or procures an abortion for any reason face imprisonment for a term from eighteen months to three years.

Fearne said that the legal amendment being proposed will protect doctors who must terminate a pregnancy to save the mother's life, without having the fear of criminal action being taken against them. The introduction of the new clause will clarify the legal position of the caring medical professional and the mother when a medical complication, which would put the mother's life at risk or her health in grave jeopardy, arises due to the pregnancy. This will be achieved through the introduction of an exemption which clarifies that the termination of a pregnancy to safeguard the health of the mother through a medical intervention, as agreed upon by medical professionals, will not be considered as a crime 

He said that if the foetus is dead, or when it is very late in the pregnancy and early birth can take place safely, then those circumstances are less complicated. However, the problem arises in early pregnancy where the foetus is alive and the mother has serious medical complications. As an example, he mentioned ectopic pregnancies, situations where in cases of cancer aggressive and quick treatment is needed, and other situations.

In cases where the mother is pregnant and there is little chance that the baby or the mother will survive, the doctors will be able to terminate the pregnancy to save the mother's life through the proposed legal amendments, he said.

"The choice is not between the child's life or the mother's life. If the mother dies the child will die," Fearne said.

The law is being amended to protect the doctors when they need to carry out these procedures and to save the mother's life rather than letting the foetus and the mother both die, he said.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard said that following the events of the American woman which took place last summer, the government wants to protect health workers. "We want to remove all forms of doubt that might save a life."

Parliamentary Secretary Buttigieg asked: "What would your reaction be if it were your wife, daughter, or mother going through this? This reform avoids unneeded suffering." She pointed out her position as a woman MP and how she appealed for a debate on this matter.

When answering questions from the media, Fearne was asked to explain what is holding the government back from decriminalising abortion after Prime Minister Robert Abela, in an interview with the Times of Malta, revealed that around 300 to 350 women abort pregnancies in Malta using medication. Fearne said that in this case, they are discussing a specific part of the criminal code. However, if there is a need to discuss the law of abortion further, he had no problem discussing it with full transparency.

When asked about whether the age of the foetus has a part to play when terminating the pregnancy, he said that the outcome is the most important thing, and the doctor will always conduct procedures to save lives.

Fearne clarified that the decisions taken will be based on the medical professional's judgement who will be following standard operating procedures (SOP).