"Pro-life?" "Pro-choice"

Today, as people were doing their regular Christmas shopping in Valletta and the streets were crowded as per usual a march took place. A sizable crowd entered Valletta and took part in a march “in defence to the unborn”.  This was the fourth annual March for life which was organized by the Life Network Foundation. As these people walked in head first they held cards that read “be a voice to those who have none” and “love the most vulnerable”. The Chairperson of this organisation, Dr Sciberras spoke to the Times of Malta and stated that Malta as a country is headed towards an abortion referendum. 

"Malta will eventually be made to hold a referendum on whether or not to introduce abortion as political parties cannot deal with this hot potato themselves" - Dr Sciberras

The chairperson stated that the Maltese population is losing its values “that makes us Maltese” while intertwining the thought with the idea that foreigners were also changing the island’s demographics. Now, this is where my opinion comes in as I am completely pro-choice rather than pro-life. I get that it is your right to hold a march but what I think is absurd is the need to hold a referendum for a law that affects a small part of the country's demographic. How can you hold a referendum where the law proposed only affects women from the age of their first period up to menopause? This makes up only a small part of the Maltese population. I believe that every woman should have the right to have an abortion in the comfortability of her own country. We’re in 2018 and women in our country still have to go abroad to go under this procedure. It is still being done by women who don’t want children or have gotten pregnant either at the wrong time or against their own will. So why not introduce this procedure in Malta where women can do it in a healthy environment in their own country and be offered for free as all other treatments and health care are.  Given that the morning after pill has been introduced this is the next logical step for woman’s rights in Malta and I believe that it should be a right to every woman that isn’t comfortable going through an unwanted pregnancy.  

Until next time 

- Christa