WATCH: Rosianne Cutajar Says Every Pharmacy In Malta Should Sell Emergency Contraception
Every pharmacy in Malta should provide emergency contraception, according to Parliamentary Secretary for Equality Rosianne Cutajar.
“I want women to have better and easier access to the morning-after pill,” she told Lovin Malta at a press conference today.
A recent study discovered that women find it difficult to access the emergency pill in Malta, with many refusing to stock it or are closed on Sunday. Meanwhile, women in Gozo are forced to cross the channel in order to find it, and our national hospital Mater Dei doesn’t even supply it.
This could all be addressed in a fresh revision to the decade-old sexual health policy.
Cutajar also added that revisions are being discussed and urged the Health Ministry to address these ails as soon as possible.
Regular contraception is also a stinging point, with reports of mass shortages dating back before the outbreak of COVID-19. This medicine, which is used beyond pregnancy prevention, isn’t even listed on the government’s essential medicine list.
Lovin Malta reached out to Health Minister Chris Fearne about the issue but did not receive a response at the time of writing.
It’s fantastic that our Parliamentary Secretary for Equality is adamant on change…but when is it going to happen?