“Today is a crucial milestone,” Robert Abela bombastically declared, “we’ve made history”. More than seven months after his government attempted to ram an abortion bill through parliament, Abela returned with a completely redrafted amendment. Abela’s government was forced into a humiliating retreat but is claiming an unprecedented victory. Abela declared himself happy with “the success we achieved”. In fact this was a dismal, catastrophic debacle brought about by his own arrogance.
The whole depressing saga was entirely unnecessary. Abela attempted to run roughshod over the whole population by driving through parliament a messy and vague amendment peppered with loopholes. That vagueness may have been intended, allowing abortion to be introduced through the backdoor. Abela claims that was never his intention. But it’s difficult to believe a word Abela says.
Abela now claims that “the wording reflects what our original intentions were”. Abela is either lying or is grossly incompetent. The wording of the original amendment referred to “protecting the health of a pregnant woman suffering from a medical complication which may put her life at risk or health in grave jeopardy”. The new amendment specifies that “grave jeopardy” refers exclusively to situations which “can lead to death”. The vagueness of the original amendment was clearly pointed out repeatedly by multiple stakeholders. Hundreds of doctors, tens of academics, multiple organisations, the Church and the Opposition all pleaded with government to refrain from pushing the amendment through.
Instead Abela attacked the opposition. “The opposition is just trying to scare people,” he bellowed, “PN is only making these arguments to score political points”. The PN wasn’t alone. Respected former Judge Giovanni Bonello warned Abela’s original proposed legislation “would open the door to abortion on demand”. Former Labour Deputy leader Joe Brincat expressed his concern. Abela even embarrassed the unembarrassable President George Vella. President emeritus Marie Louis Coleiro Preca attended and addressed a massive protest march against Abela’s proposed abortion bill. “The lack of clarity in this amendment concerns me, it is not putting our mind at rest that abortion will not be introduced”, she lamented. 44 different organisations, 450 doctors, 80 academics and over 20,000 people who attended that massive protest expressed their opposition to Abela’s proposed amendments. But Abela was adamant.
As late as January 2023, in one of his party’s political activities, Robert Abela persisted in his spiteful stubbornness. He insisted that “the bill based on the principles of safeguarding a woman’s health and life when in grave jeopardy will go ahead as planned”. He defiantly refused to drop the vague reference to a “woman’s health”. Barely months later he now deviously claims that the wording of the new amendment reflects what his government’s original intentions were. He was either lying in January or he’s lying now.
“I am immensely satisfied with the historical legislative developments we had today - it confirms government’s courage in stating from the start that reform was necessary to protect the life of prospective mothers”. He’s now conveniently dropped the reference to jeopardising women’s health.
After having managed to galvanise a nation against his arrogant rush to enact half-baked legislation, Abela is now bragging that he managed to unify the country. Unbelievably he is boasting that he brought stakeholders together after having split the nation. “The success we achieved today is because we let society discuss. As a government we brought different pockets of society together, we understood everybody, and we took the final decision”.
Abela didn’t let society discuss anything. He didn’t even listen to his grassroots. He just ploughed ahead with his pathetic amendment. He was determined to ignore everybody and get his way, like a spoilt brat. He never bothered to listen to anybody. Even Marie Louise Coleiro Preca was compelled to plead publicly, during a massive protest - “we appeal to government - meet with experts, civil organisations, discuss with stakeholders, and take note of the position paper”.
Abela had miscalculated badly, again. He hadn’t gauged the public mood but claimed he had his finger on the country’s pulse. He had no clue about the intensity of resistance to his cynical amendment. Only the full force of an enraged popular rebellion forced him to back off.
Instead of humbly accepting he had erred, he manufactures perverted narratives. “We managed to persuade the people as to what our original intentions were”, he bluffed. He paints a fantastical illusion of “the success we achieved”. He boasts about “historical legislative developments” and of the “big change that jolts the status quo”. He’s still attacking the opposition. “I am sorry to say that we had the opposition on the other side of the spectrum because it insisted that there was no need for legislative reform because it was happy with the comfort of the status quo”, he provoked.
Abela continued to fudge the issue. He referred to a “woman who was handed a conditional discharge after being charged with abortion”. “This is a wake-up call for Malta demonstrating that what we said would never happen has happened”, he incited. Abela was deviously bringing up an entirely unrelated case where the woman’s life was not in danger and no doctor was involved in her abortion. Her case had nothing to do with the legislation he’s proposing.
Abela then admonished journalists: “Let us separate today’s amendments from the issue of abortion, they are two different issues”. He was trying to appease the pro-choice groups after betraying them: “That discussion (abortion) needs to start and go ahead and it should not be dominated by politicians - let society speak”. The Voice for Choice Coalition did speak. They lambasted Abela’s latest amendment as “a betrayal” and “a step in the wrong direction”.
“I understand there are those who want more, and I also understand those who said we went too far”. Abela understands nothing. The only thing he’s after is trying to please everybody. And in the process he’s riled everybody. He engages in elaborate indecision in his blind pursuit of votes. The only thing he values, above all else, is maintaining power. To that end he’ll stop at nothing.