More information about the specific charges brought against her, and how these will be handled, will be released in the following days and hours. What is already clear is that the fears of those who predicted that Malta would seek to criminalise women who made the choice to terminate their pregnancies have been proven to be correct. 

“Access to safe abortion is recognised worldwide as a basic part of women’s healthcare and a basic right. That women are prosecuted for it locally should put us all to shame.”

Malta’s approach to abortion has long been a stain on the country’s international reputation, and if this case sets a precedent which leads to future prosecutions, that reputation will only worsen.

In the past, high ranking Maltese officials have revealed their backwards perspectives on abortion – and these perspectives have contributed to an environment in which women would face charges for terminating a pregnancy.

More importantly, the experience of women who choose to exercise a fundamental right over their bodily autonomy, is likely to become more difficult and traumatic.

Criminalising and stigmatising abortion does not end the practice, but it does compel more people to seek unsafe means through which they can terminate their pregnancies – often to devastating effect.

 

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