Prime Minister Abela has refused to share his personal opinion on abortion, because he fears that doing so would politicise discussions before first allowing them to progress.

"If I express my opinion on the abortion issue, I believe I will be making the gravest mistake I could make, because I would be politicizing the issue before allowing discussions to progress. I believe that we are very behind in these discussions," Abela said.

Abela said that the topic of abortion does not belong in a politicians' domain, yet discussions on the issue can no longer be "swept under the rug." He said that discussion on the matter should not be snuffed out, but should move forward in a structured manner.

He said that the discussion cannot be done similar to the ones surrounding Bill 28 (the bill introduced that had eased anti-abortion laws in cases where the mother's life is at risk), saying that government itself could have also done better in the discussions at the time. He continued that government could have held a public consultation before pushing the bill.

The Prime Minister added that people should not stigmatize and "make criminals out of people who have suffered in their lives" and that he cannot ignore the realities of the women - some of which he has already spoken to - who, for various reasons (social, medical, and so on), had an abortion themselves in the past.

Abela condemned the Opposition's handling of the abortion debate, describing that the Nationalist Party has been "very insensitive" in their position on the subject, and their approach through the way they have spoken about this controversial issue. Abela said that his opinion was "certainly" different to Opposition leader Bernard Grech's, "whose opinion is to stigmatise those who are in favour of abortion."

In this light, the Prime Minister spoke negatively of the Nationalist Party for "politicizing the issue for political gain."

Referencing the sensitivity of this topic, Abela acknowledged that achieving the sensitive balance of defending the rights of the unborn and defending the rights of prospectus mothers may not even be possible. Speaking about the importance of letting these discussions develop naturally, he said that he believes that Malta is "very behind in these discussions."

"I do not want to address this issue on the basis of a minority or majority of votes. We are talking about the most sensitive and ethical themes here - people's lives," the Prime Minister stated.

He also acknowledged that abortions occur every year but "everyone sweeps this under the rug, because it is an uncomfortable topic. I believe you must be uncomfortable to call for change sometimes." He called for the abortion debate to be treated with maturity, and "not like PN, who say that those who are in favour of abortion cannot join [these discussions]."

"To announce my view on the referendum prejudices the discussion that must be done, not only on abortion, but also on the legislative amendment," he said, in response to a question regarding his opinion on the President Myriam Spiteri Debono's comments - in which the President said that the abortion issue must be resolved via a referendum. Abela admitted that due to the nature of the topic's sensitivity, he believes that this "should not solely be in the politicians' remit."