WATCH: Pro-Choice Activists Take ‘Abortion Pills’ Outside Parliament
Pro-choice activists gathered outside parliament to consume fake abortion pills as a protest against Malta’s blanket ban on abortion.
This coincides with International Safe Abortion Day, an occasion which the World Health Organisation states should serve as “a timely reminder that access to legal and safe abortion is fundamental to every person’s right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health.”
Before consuming the fake abortion pills, the activists had some strong words about the authorities’ anti-abortion stance.
“Malta is the only country in the whole of the EU where abortion is still illegal under all circumstances. We are here to show you how easy and simple this process can be,” one activist said.
“Due to the stigmatisation of abortion in Malta, most people think that abortions are surgical and only surgical. We are here to show you that actually, studies have shown that the majority – by a long shot – are medical and pill-induced.”
The protest was organised by two local NGOs, Young Progressive Beings and Doctors for Choice Malta.
Earlier this year, former Prime Minister and Maltese MEP Alfred Sant said that as abortion is recognised as a civil right in the European Union, Malta must have a civil and serious debate on the issue too.
Conversely, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea Curmi spoke out strongly against abortion earlier this month.
“We hope and pray that there will be a time when, similar to when society realised and actively worked against slavery, that the same will be done to protect life,” Galea Curmi said.