In his speech, Buttigieg dismissed concerns that the lives of pregnant women are under threat due to the outlawing of abortion, insisting that “abortion itself is the threat, against those lives we are trying to save”.

“Are we going to have a hospital where women are brought in to give birth from one side and brought in to kill from the other side? Is that what we want?” he questioned.

Buttigieg urged people who oppose abortion to make their voices heard and not take anything for granted.

“It pains me that we need to fight and gather here on a Sunday to try and crush this cancer that is growing bit by bit, particularly among youths,” he said, claiming that some university students who oppose abortion are facing threats.

“Don’t think this is an easy fight, we must be determined. If we don’t want Malta to sink further in the drainage it has sunk in, we must rise up, watch out and take nothing for granted.”

Malta has some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world, with abortion illegal in all circumstances unless the mother’s life is at risk. However, calls for the law to change have intensified in recent years and last weekend’s pro-choice rally was believed to be one of the largest public pro-choice demonstrations the island has ever seen.

Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms Rebecca Buttigieg praised the protestors for having the “courage to make their voices heard” and saud politicians must “give value” to their opinions. 

Malta’s abortion laws are also facing a legal challenge by Andrea Prudente, an American woman who was denied an abortion after suffering a miscarriage while on holiday in Malta, a case that made several international headlines. Prudente has since sued the authorities, arguing that the island’s abortion laws breached her human rights. 

Should Malta decriminalise abortion?