Moviment Graffitti said it applauded the proposed amendment by the government to allow pregnancy termination when women’s lives and health are at risk and the peace of mind it will bring to pregnant women on our island.

The NGO, in a statement, maintained that the termination of a pregnancy when health is at risk is considered basic healthcare and a basic human right, as held by international medical standards. In spite of this, we assert that this is only the first step and the bare minimum. It is a crucial advance but a still insufficient move towards adequate access to reproductive healthcare.

Primarily however, we are repulsed by the abusive and violent language being used by prominent members of the Nationalist Party in Opposition to debate this important amendment. PN Opposition leader Bernard Grech mocked the surname of Andrea Prudente who lost a wanted pregnancy, one that both she and her partner cared deeply about and wanted to celebrate. Grech questioned her actions before losing a wanted pregnancy and insisted that doctors were ‘more prudent’ then her.

This barbaric disparaging of a woman mourning a wanted pregnancy and a woman at her weakest, signals an unprecedented ethical collapse in public discourse. We therefore hold the leader of the PN Opposition Bernard Grech entirely responsible for encouraging public descent into an aggressive and violent amoralism.

An Opposition Leader willing to ridicule and endanger women at their most vulnerable to cling on to political points does not deserve a seat in Parliament. We call upon Bernard Grech’s immediate resignation and a swift apology by the Nationalist Party, the NGO said.

“We note that the PN Opposition is aware of its inability to speak to the young demographic it depends on for re-election into power. We also note that the PN Opposition is aware of its insignificance in shaping public debate. Most importantly however, as a conservative party shaped entirely by patriarchal blindspots, the PN Opposition is afraid of giving up the future of Malta and Gozo to women. It deals with its own internal fears, confusions and collapse by resorting to outright public hostility against women.

“We insist that European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, in remaining silent on this matter, has failed to use her position of power and the global platforms available to her to shield the women of Malta and Gozo from the public oppression, humiliation and shaming inflicted upon them by her colleagues in the PN Opposition during this dark week.

“A political class that lashes out against women when it finds itself losing vision and control is severely compromised and has no place in positions of power. All PN members of parliament, male and female alike, who did not take a position against the hateful rhetoric of their leader Bernard Grech are failed politicians like him, the NGO said.

"We reiterate our call for Bernard Grech’s resignation and insist that the Nationalist Party should issue a public apology to Andrea Prudente."