Pro-Choice Doctors Call Out ‘Misogyny’ Of Local Politicians Following Lee Bugeja Bartolo’s Abortion Comment
Maltese NGO Doctors for Choice has called out the “poor quality and misogyny” of local politicians in response to PN MEP candidate Lee Bugeja Bartolo calling an abortion vote “bollocks”.
Yesterday, the European Parliament voted to enshrine abortion into the Charter of Fundamental Rights, causing a mixed reaction from Malta, with pro-choice people celebrating the win and individuals from the other camp denouncing it.
Bugeja Bartolo was one of the people staunchly against it, telling Lovin Malta that the whole vote is “bollocks”. He claimed that “life” should be protected and that while he supports women who don’t want to raise children, he doesn’t support the notion of pregnancy termination.
His comment, while somewhat unsurprising, frustrated many activists who have worked tirelessly to change the state of reproductive rights in Malta – the country with the most stringent laws on abortion.
“This is quite frankly offensive,” Doctors for Choice wrote on social media.
“To women who need to terminate a pregnancy for any reason – which includes cases where there is a risk to their health or life – today’s vote in the European Parliament is certainly not bollocks. It is a ray of hope that things may change, despite the poor quality and misogyny of local politicians.”
Last year, Doctors for Choice launched an Abortion Doula Support Service which is a telephone information service to provide anonymous professional guidance before, during, or after having an abortion in Malta.
MEP Cyrus Engerer also called out Bugeja Bartolo, saying that women’s health and freedom are most definitely not bollocks.
In parliament, PN MEP David Casa as well as PL MEPs Josianne Cutajar and Alex Agius Saliba all voted against the resolution.
Meanwhile, PL MEP Alfred Sant abstained.
In a similar vote back in 2021, Sant had explained that the “EU should have little to say in such matters”.
However, he did call for a national debate on abortion, after saying that “projecting people who are in favour of abortion as heartless or amoral makes no sense and is hypocritical.”
Engerer was unfortunately unable to attend the vote due to other work commitments, but he did co-sign the vote and expressed his pride in being selected to negotiate the resolution.
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