Prime Minister Robert Abela suggested lower penalties should be imposed on women who terminate their own pregnancies, but reiterated that the government has no intention of reforming Malta’s abortion laws.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Abela addressed an issue a day after a court handed an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for three years, to a woman who was found guilty of inducing her own abortion.

Abela said that while the government has no plans to change Malta’s abortion laws, he insisted that women who terminate their own pregnancies should not face prison sentences, even suspended ones.

The Prime Minister said he would raise the matter with Cabinet, reiterating that his position remained unchanged from statements he made weeks earlier.

“As long as I am Prime Minister, no woman will be given a prison sentence for this offence. I also do not believe that a suspended prison sentence is the ideal penalty for this crime,” Abela said.

He said that the Criminal Code already provides alternative penalties, including community service, conditional discharge and probation orders, and said Courts had historically relied on these measures.

Abela said he could not understand why sentencing appeared to have escalated in recent months.

“You have to put yourself in the shoes of the person concerned and in the trauma they have been through,” he said.

The Prime Minister emphasised that the position he was taking did not amount to the decriminalisation or legalisation of abortion, but rather it concerned the type of penalty applied by the courts.

He said the constitutional power of a pardon, which allows a sentence to be replaced rather than cancelled outright, could be used in such cases without requiring amendments to the law.

Abela also raised concerns about the potential public health implications of the current legal framework.

He said that hundreds of women in Malta were believed to be using abortion pills each year and warned that fear of criminal prosecution could discourage them from seeking medical assistance.

“We cannot have a prospective mother lose her life because she does not go for medical help, fearing she will end up behind bars. That is not something I am willing to have on my conscience,” Abela said.

Referring to the most recent case, Abela said that the woman had reportedly taken several pills and suffered significant blood loss before eventually seeking medical treatment.

He said the situation highlighted the risks faced by women who delay medical care because of fears they could face criminal consequences.

Abela also addressed the issue of whether medical professionals should report such cases to the authorities, and said that he disagreed with any legal advice suggesting doctors were obliged to report patients.

“I cannot allow a situation where a woman loses her life. I do not agree with that legal advice,” he said, adding that whether to report a patient was ultimately a matter for the individual doctor.