Today, activists from Moviment Graffitti marched with other women’s rights activists, allies and MEPs from the European Parliament to the Maltese Embassy in a rally to highlight Malta’s unjust abortion laws and the abortion stigma that still exists in Malta.
Malta still has the most inhumane abortion laws in the European Union, despite being promised a reform that ultimately left the situation for women’s health more desperate than before. We know that in Malta, at least one person a day uses abortion pills to self-manage an abortion at home. Abortion pills (mifepristone + misoprostol) are safe and they are on the WHO’s list of essential medicines. Yet, abortion remains punishable by 3 years imprisonment, and just last year a woman was prosecuted for having an abortion after being reported to the police by her abusive partner, the activists explained.
Holding a banner reading ‘Kulħadd iħobb lil xi ħadd li għamel abort’ (We all love someone who has had an abortion) the activists highlighted the fact that abortion bans do not stop abortions, but rather intend to keep people scared and ashamed. The activists explained that despite the ban, abortion in Malta is very common.
They said that if the Government in Malta truly cares about people’s health, life, and well-being, abortion must be decriminalised and that it is high time that women in Malta are no longer criminalised for doing what is best for themselves – their health, their families, and their lives.
The activists explained to the MEPs present that the Government in Malta is turning its back on human rights and women’s rights and they called for support while reiterating that they will keep fighting until women are no longer treated as second-class citizens in Malta.
