Watch: Pregnant Maltese Paediatrician Speaks Out Against Abortion: ‘My Daughter’s Body Is Not My Choice’
A pregnant Maltese paediatrician has issued an impassioned plea against the legalisation of abortion, arguing that she has no right to end the life of her unborn daughter.
Veronica Bartolo’s plea was published by Doctors For Life, a pro-life group of doctors that was set up in response to the formation of the pro-choice medical group Doctors For Choice.
She said that while the popular pro-choice battle cry ‘My body, my choice’ can be empowering to women, it shouldn’t apply to abortion.
“[The phrase] captures the idea of bodily autonomy, whereby I do what I want with my own body and I believe it to be a heartfelt feminist cry in response to centuries of discrimination and oppression of women in societies dominated by men,” she said.
“To a certain extent, the phrase isn’t only understandable and liberating but necessary and just. But then there is a fine line that we should not cross, whereby I get lost in fighting for my rights instead of fighting for what is right. Violent choices are not OK.”
“Within me for the past nine months my daughter has been growing and living, inside me her heart is beating and that heart isn’t going to stop. Her life is not mine to take and her body is not my choice.”
Malta has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world, prohibiting the practice entirely unless the mother’s life is at risk.
However, pressure has been growing on the authorities on late, with 135 doctors recently signing a judicial protest demanding a review on the blanket abortion ban.
Last June, Health Minister Chris Fearne ordered a review of the law to ensure it isn’t precluding doctors from saving lives.
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