Health Minister Urges For Change In Confidentiality Law After Abortion Sentence
Health Minister Jo-Etienna Abela has urged for a change in the secrecy law that allows doctors to breach patient confidentiality if they suspect a crime has been committed, after a woman given a suspended sentence for having an abortion.
In comments to Times of Malta, Abela echoed the arguments that many activists, personalities and politicians shared when reacting to the court decision: the fear that women would not seek medical help if they develop a potentially life-threatening complication from having an abortion.
A 28-year-old woman was handed a 22-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after she had a medical abortion. She went to hospital after experience pain and told her doctors that she had an abortion – she was then criminally charged.
Abela said he was shocked at the penalty as well as its implications yet maintained that the government has no mandate to legalise abortion and he, personally, is against doing so.
However, he called to amend the Professional Secrecy Act to avoid situations where someone does not seek help when they need it.
The Professional Secrecy Act requires professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants to keep client information confidential.
However, the current law makes an exception for certain professions, excluding legal practitioners, allowing them to report otherwise confidential information if they suspect a crime has been committed.
This means that doctors who report patients for having an abortion are not breaking the law, given that abortion remains a criminal offence in Malta.
Abela said that his interpretation is that medical professionals are not compelled to report, even though it is in their remit. However, the law as it stands makes room for different interpretations, so the only way to ensure damage is averted is to amend the law.
“To do that, we will need broad consultation, not least at cabinet and inter-ministerial level. While I am firmly pro-life, I will not accept risking the life of any woman in such sad circumstances,” he told Times of Malta.
The court’s ruling prompted widespread backlash with politicians condemning the decision to punish a woman who sought medical care after having an abortion. Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg, MEP Daniel Attard and MPs Rosianne Cutajar and Ramona Attard all opposed the decision, highlighting the dangerous implications it will have on other women across Malta.
Pro-life advocates, like Peppi Azzopardi, also condemned the decision, urging for any obligation of a medical professional to report an abortion to be removed.
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