Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has said that Prime Minister Robert Abela is merely copying a law which other countries made, which led to allowing abortion in the country. This is because they did not specify on which health conditions constituted the right to an abortion.

Speaking in the abortion law amendment debate in parliament, Grech accused government of wanting to fully open the doors for abortion to enter the country, contrary to Abela’s insistent position against abortion in recent years.

Grech said that Abela wants to introduce abortion in Malta without having any mandate from the public to do so.

He said that each baby born passes through four crucial moments in life, which are when the couple find out they are pregnant, the duration of the pregnancy, the success of the birth and the treatment and care for the baby after it is born.

Grech mentioned the amendments to the IVF bill earlier this year, which increased the possibility for more couples to have children. He said that laws were also passed which ensure the health of each baby and the mother.

He accused government of not looking out for the welfare of the baby in the womb, which is a crucial moment. Instead, government will want to stop life, he said.

“Robert Abela did not put forward laws which look out for health and quality of life,” he said. Grech said that more than 80 academics and experts are advising that the law is revised to ensure that there are no loopholes to the amendment.

The Group of 80 Experts had appealed to government to adopt this version to the law in Parliament:

“No crime is committed under article 241(2) or article 243 when the death or bodily harm of an unborn child results from a medical intervention conducted with the aim of saving the life of the mother where there is a real and substantial risk of loss of the mother's life from a physical illness."

Grech said that if he wants to introduce abortion in Malta he should say so clearly, and if not, he should adopt the proposal put forward by the aforementioned experts.

He said that no mother or doctor has been prosecuted during a doctor’s intervention to abort the baby to save a mother’s life. Grech said that government is following the footsteps of the United Kingdom, which does not explain or distinguish the risk the mother would be in.

Grech said that this led to the killings of almost a quarter of a million babies through an abortion.

He continued that mental health did not justify the killing of a baby, but rather the mother should be provided with the adequate support for her mental health problems. Grech said that there is no guarantee that a mother’s mental health would improve after aborting the baby.

Grech accused Abela of being partisan and rushing to amend the law after the Andrea Prudente case. He reiterated statements made by other PN members who said that Prudente was never in any risk of losing her life.

"I have never even heard of this baby moon... but there she was calling it a baby as well! She wanted an abortion, despite our doctors treating her in a prudent way."

He appealed for government to give more aid to mental health NGOs, as well as once again start giving financial aid to Richmond Foundation to run their 24/7 mental health helpline alongside the government one.

“The solution is being given on a silver plate,” Grech said, referring to the proposal made by the group of experts.

In a short reaction statement, the Labour Party described Grech’s speech as being not only “contradictory, confused and built on falsehoods” but as also being “insensitive and one which shows someone not capable of elevating himself above partisanism to speak about such a sensitive topic.”