Abortion and the Constitution

It is unfortunate that in Malta we still have the tendency to politicise everything.

When Gift of Life made the proposal to entrench the prohibition of abortion in the Constitution, we had and still have one sole aim in mind - to protect our islands from abortion, as is the clear wish of the vast majority of the population.

In scientific research recently carried out by Gift of Life, respondents were asked: "Should the government do all it can to prevent abortion ever being legalised in Malta?" A clear majority, 81.7%, said they felt the government must work to prevent the possibility of abortion ever being made legal. This would include entrenching the abortion ban in the Constitution.

The Times carried out a recent Internet poll that gave readers a rather different impression, suggesting that there existed a narrower majority. Thankfully The Times also had the good sense to also carry a disclaimer which read: "The result is not necessarily representative of the population as a whole". Otherwise, this sort of information may indeed be extremely misleading to those who are unaware of the technicalities involved in carrying out accurate, reliable scientific research studies.

Abortion is the scourge of the world. Babies as old as 28 weeks are being burnt to death by acidic substances injected into the mother's womb. As the baby in the womb inhales this saline solution, its lungs are burnt and it dies a horrific and slow death. These babies are often born alive and kicking and left to die in a cold metal laboratory dish.

Many mothers, who have gone in for an abortion, have been scarred for life by the unforgettable memory of giving birth to a screaming, wriggling baby and not just a lump of unrecognisable flesh that pro-abortionists claim it is.

The common term used by abortionists to describe these babies is "the candy apple baby". This terms stems from the discoloration of their burnt skin after this treatment, which is a sort of shiny, reddish yellow colour.

Few Maltese have heard of partial birth abortions, where labour is induced in third trimester pregnancies and as the body of the baby appears outside the mother's vagina, the abortionist allows the whole of the baby's body except for its head to come out of the vagina. With the head still in the mother's vagina, and its little legs kicking, the doctor then turns the baby over, sticks a pair of scissors into the head/neck cavity of the baby, opens the scissors to create a gaping hole in the back of the baby's head and then sucks out the contents of the baby's brain with a powerful vacuum cleaner.

With a collapsed head cavity, the rest of the baby's now limp body is then delivered. However, if the baby's head is allowed to come out of the vagina before it is killed, then this is considered as wilful murder.

Indeed doctors in America and Britain have in the past been prosecuted successfully for homicide when the child's body and head was delivered before it had actually been killed. The distance from a child's shoulder to its toes distinguishes the act of murder or legal abortion.

It would be wise for some readers and indeed even some writers to research the matter of abortion better before expressing their opinions. Here are some interesting statistics taken from actual official abortion providers worldwide.

Most abortions take place at between eight and ten weeks' gestation, that is, when the child is perfectly formed and simply needs to mature and grow in size. The reason for this, they tell us, is that most abortionists will ask mothers to wait until this time to have an abortion, even if they discovered that they are pregnant earlier, as they would want to be certain that they have got all the various little human body parts out of the mother to avoid an infection, should a part of the baby's body be left inside the womb.

Only 1% of all rape victims in the entire world actually become pregnant as a result. Of that 1%, only another 1% of all abortions carried out in the world are carried out by mothers who are pregnant because of rape or incest. In America alone, between 160 and 350 abortions a year take place in cases of rape.

Six per cent of abortions take place because of potential health problems to do with either the mother or the child and a staggering 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons, namely that the child is unwanted or inconvenient.

Including an abortion ban in our Constitution will ensure that if abortion were to be legalised in Malta, it would be by the clear will (two-thirds) of the majority of Paliament, and not by a simple majority as it is today.

In a democratic society this is fully acceptable; this amendment will always reflect the desire of the majority of the Maltese. Today, the Maltese are overwhelmingly against abortion and thus their wish to protect Malta from abortion will hopefully be respected by our Parliament's decision to vote for this proposed amendment.

Even murder is written into our Constitution and there is no clear past or future perceived threat from the United Nations or other European lobby and pressure groups for Malta legalise it.

Gift of Life is extremely pleased that so far, many organisations, groups and local councils from both political sides have responded positively to this amendment.