Referendum Needed On Malta’s New Abortion Bill, Jason Azzopardi Proposes
As debate on Malta’s new abortion bill rages on, former PN MP Jason Azzopardi has proposed that the matter be taken to a public vote.
“It makes you think, doesn’t it? How sad it is that the government wants to introduce abortion without an electoral mandate,” Azzopardi said.
“I think we should start discussing whether an abrogative referendum should be held if the bill passes without any amendments to safeguard against abuse, with people using mental health as an excuse to get an abortion nine months into their pregnancy. Do you agree?”
An abrogative referendum allows people to vote on whether to repeal a specific law following a petition that has been signed by at least 10% of the electorate.
The democratic tool has only been utilised once in Malta’s history, when a referendum held in 2015 to repeal spring hunting narrowly failed.
The bill currently being discussed in Parliament will allow doctors to terminate pregnancies if they have reason to believe the mother’s life is at risk or her health is in grave jeopardy.
However, it doesn’t provide a legal definition for the term “health”, and after Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne confirmed that it will cover cases of mental health, the Opposition warned it will be open to abuse.
Do you agree with the bill?
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