Abortion care is healthcare, until something goes wrong… Then it’s emergency care, or even no care at all, because the woman may end up at the mortuary. The WHO describes abortion as a very safe procedure when carried out following international guidelines.
Medical abortion (with pills) can be carried out safely at home without direct medical supervision, as long as a hospital is within an hour’s distance.
Likewise, surgical abortion is also very safe when carried out by trained professionals at a licensed clinic or hospital.
Due to Malta’s extreme abortion laws, women who need abortions must resort to either ordering pills online which they take at home, often alone, or travel abroad. Despite the criminalising abortion laws, women still opt to use pills because they know they can use them safely in the comfort of their home.
However, this doesn’t come without its pitfalls. Many become very anxious about the whole process because they are unable to speak to their own doctor to check whether their symptoms are within normal limits.
They are also wary of going to hospital even if they think they might be bleeding far too much.
We, at Doctors for Choice, could see the stress and increased potential for serious complications suffered by those undergoing medical abortions. So we decided to fill this obvious and dangerous healthcare gap by launching an Abortion Doula Support Service a few months ago. One can call 2034 1683 to seek help before, during and after their abortion and speak to either Prof. Isabel Stabile or myself.
Notwithstanding the fact that all doctors are required to provide medical assistance to those who need it, regardless of the person’s social status, race or gender, it seems that the police have received yet another request to investigate us at Doctors for Choice. Seeing that the other three or four complaints (I’m starting to lose count!) did not go anywhere, I doubt that this one would either.
I have yet to meet a woman who decides to have an abortion frivolously- Natalie Psaila
It is with reason that the police ignore these reports because providing information about abortion is not illegal. Especially information that is easily accessible online or even from a medical textbook that can be bought in local bookshops.
It is important to note that doctors must help even those who are ill or injured as a result of an action that is illegal in the country they practise in. The state healthcare system is duty-bound to offer medical assistance to those undergoing abortions, despite the current almost-complete ban on termination of pregnancy.
I am aware that doctors at the state hospital do help women suffering from complications of abortion. But we also know that many women are apprehensive of going there because there is always the risk of staff reporting her; a scenario which has happened in the past.
It is ironic that some feel it necessary to report us for fulfilling our duties and for refusing to abandon those in critical need. I have yet to meet a woman who decides to have an abortion frivolously. It is a stressful procedure made only more difficult by the lack of medical support due to the illegality surrounding this heart-wrenching decision.
Some might call on the police to arrest us. I call upon Robert Abela, Chris Fearne and all those in government to stop this dangerous state of affairs. People who can get pregnant, including trans men and children, deserve to be provided with the best medical management available, because abortion care is healthcare.
Natalie Psaila is a specialist in family medicine and a member of Doctors for Choice.