Hundreds answered the call of pro-life activists on Sunday, celebrating "love for the unborn" with a March for Life held annually in Valletta.  

The Life foundation Network, which organised the march, said the theme of the march: Il Ħajja Dritt (Life is a Right), drew on the fact that human rights without the right to life were superfluous.

People gathered before the march around a large printout of a newborn baby that was spread across the stairs leading to the Auberge de Castille, the Office of the Prime Minister.

A large image of a baby on the steps of the Auberge de Castille before the pro-life march. Photo Jonathan Borg

Many of those taking part in the march carried Maltese flags and posters of newborns and slogans such as 'Pro-life= Pro-Women' and 'Kun il-vuci tieghi' (be our voice).

The group walked along Merchants' Street, St John Street and onto Republic Street where a number of activists delivered speeches.

The March for Life in Republic Street, Valletta. Photo Jonathan Borg.

A senior lecturer in Social Policy and Social Work at the Faculty for Social Wellbeing at the University of Malta, Daniella Zerafa, said in her speech that through her career, she met numerous women who were pregnant but in difficult situations.

"There are families who need support, the child in the womb is not just the responsibility of the mother, the father, or their family, but all of society is responsible for that baby in the womb," she said, adding that there needs to be support for families, especially those suffering through social or financial difficulties.

Patrizia Sandoval addressing the pro-life march in Valletta. Photo Jonathan Borg.

Patrizia Sandoval, a woman who had three abortions in the USA, said Malta is a little island but "it is the brightest star in Europe as it continues to fight for life and promotes a pro-life culture"

"After each abortion I suffered and so did my boyfriend suffer. We did not know we were suffering post-abortion syndrome." She said that she was never told she was aborting a baby but a "sack of cells,"  she said. 

Life Network Foundation leader and demonstration organiser Miriam Sciberras wrapped up the speeches and underlined the right to life of the unborn children.

She noted how last year thousands gathered to make sure the law continued to protect the lives of the innocent and thanked the crowd for their support.

Petition for abrogative referendum

In a separate event in Republic Street on Sunday afternoon,  an alliance of pro-life groups launched a petition calling for the holding of an abrogative referendum to strike down  recent amendment to the criminal law which they view as opening the door to abortion. The amendments allow doctors to terminate a pregnancy when a woman’s life is at risk or her health is in “grave jeopardy which may lead to death.”

The group is made up of political parties Partit Abba and Partit Populari, and other groups such as Pro Malta Christiana, Parents and Children's Rights Movement.

Abba party leader Ivan Grech Mintoff said the group disagreed with the amended law.

"We agree that if a woman's life is at risk there should be an intervention, but that is what used to happen already," he said. 

"We want a referendum so that the law goes back to saving the lives of women and children, and there are no loopholes to introduce abortion."

Last year, thousands of demonstrators protested over the proposed legal amendments, which were eventually watered down.