ADPD’s predecessor party Alternattiva Demokratika used to be against abortion but things started shifting in 2019 when former leader Arnold Cassola resigned in protest at how the party’s executive had come out in favour of it.

The party has since come out in favour of decriminalising abortion and Gauci said the issue no longer causes infighting.

“I think the position we took this election was quite courageous considering the mentality out there, but our stance also reflects the mentality of people out there,” she said.

“Nowadays we can say that we’re not doing like the other parties who aren’t even talking about it. We discussed and came out in favour of decriminalising abortion and providing a chance for it to be accessed by people with a non-viable pregnancy and in cases of incest and rape. We also want to protect doctors who have to act on the spot when they have to choose between the life of a woman or a dead foetus.”

Malta has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world and both PL and PN remain steadfastly against decriminalising it. However, their stances appear to have softened in recent months.

Prime Minister Robert Abela recently said he wants to understand the pain of women who carry out abortions and condemned small party ABBA for reporting a group of pro-choice activists to the police. 

During a recent interview on Xtra, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech responded to a question on abortion by stating the PN “cannot keep telling people how they should live their lives”.

Former independent MP Marlene Farrugia presented a bill to decriminalise abortion in the last legislature but it hasn’t been discussed in Parliament.

Do you think Malta should decriminalise abortion?