“Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the marketplace and cried incessantly: ‘I am looking for God! I am looking for God!’ God is dead. And we have killed him,” concluded Nietzsche.

By today’s standards, in a culture of death, Mary would have been counselled to terminate her pregnancy. For what reason should a young person take on the stigma, anguish and destitution of her circumstances?

Yes, God would have been dead and the world as we know it today would look very different indeed.

Michael Sandel, a philosopher at Harvard, argues that, often, the abortion debate is emblematic of the liberal reluctance to engage in ‘substantive’ public discourse on important issues. This is exactly what Malta’s current government is doing.

Through the proposed amendment, which is intended to simply be rubber-stamped by parliament, the state is trying to shift the topic away from the ethical and religious considerations surrounding abortion. Our learned and experienced professionals read through this ploy and it won’t sway those who view abortion as murder. This bill is being simply pushed through without serious consideration of its implications.

In this whole issue, the government is abdicating its role to seek the common good and is taking a utilitarian and minimalist approach by trying to appear ‘government neutral’ and posit it as a serious attempt to promote the general welfare autonomously from religion or politics.

Abortion is a controversial topic and the morality of killing unborn children cannot be ignored for political expediency. The experts all agree that the moment of conception marks the beginning of a human life. No one, no matter how tormented one may be, should ever have the choice to take another person’s life.

Life begins at conception and is present throughout pregnancy and, therefore, the state has a compelling interest in protecting that life from and after conception.

Feminist author Naomi Wolf, for instance, who recently broke with some pro-choice ranks argued that “the death of the foetus is a real death”. Therefore, the pro-choice argument that because this is my body, I have the right to decide what to do with it, loses integrity. If there is life, then there are also rights associated with an unborn child’s life.

A woman has the right to choose for herself only if her options are morally acceptable- Claudio Farrugia

A woman has the right to choose for herself only if her options are morally acceptable. Otherwise, a woman’s right to choose abortion is equivalent to her right to choose to shoot an annoying neighbour. A murder cannot be converted into a surgical procedure by citing the individual’s right to choose.

The basic question is not to attribute the issue of abortion as simply a religious one but whether the ‘abortion decision’ should be made by the individual. Thus, the current amendment is simply and conveniently offering grounds for choosing one over the other.

Interestingly, the pro-choice lobby, who are usually ardent defenders of abortion rights, have taken a back seat throughout this controversy. This is because people realise the government intends to pass this amendment in order to legalise abortion.

The argument against abortion is motivated by the fact that all life is sacred and we ought to extend an unconditional and universal respect for every human life.

The government has a moral obligation to fulfil. Its role is to promote human dignity, protect human rights and build the common good while also assisting citizens in carrying out their societal responsibilities. If it shirks this duty, it will be unable to carry out its most basic function.

Rather than pursuing solutions that will ultimately harm our society, we should all work together to create a more caring society.

We must strengthen our support systems for women in extremely difficult situations as well as children born in difficult circumstances.

We should invest in stronger care structures in order to foster more responsible societies that celebrate and honour the gift of life, make a difference in people’s lives and make the world a better place for all of us.

Claudio Farrugia is a member of Catholic Voices Malta.