Unstable rhetoric on abortion
Isabel Stabile (‘Sticking to fact’, September 24) is right. Personal attacks are abominable. My criticism is directed at her rhetoric, not at her person.
At the customs of facts, Stabile tries to smuggle rhetorical devices passing them for facts. How?
One. She says: “The morning-after pill does not cause abortion”. Rhetorical device, not fact.
Stabile is using a tailor-made definition of pregnancy, that life begins with implantation on the uterine wall. The morning-after pill does prevent implantation and, therefore, according to this logic, the morning-after pill does not cause abortion.
I prefer the definition found in the Nationalist Party statute: “protecting life from the moment of conception”, not “of implantation”. According to this definition, the morning-after pill causes the abortion of a life.
Stabile wants us to believe that life begins with implantation. No, ma’am. Life begins with conception.
Two. She says: “Abortion is already a reality in Malta”. Again, a rhetorical device.
Yes, abortion is a reality; so are theft and murder. So what’s the point, exactly?
Three. She says: “Population-based surveys now clearly show the majority living in Malta wish to see abortion decriminalised.” Again, a rhetorical device.
What are “population-based surveys”? Do they include temporary residents? Is Stabile suggesting the removal of the nationality criterion from our democratic process?
Sorry Stabile. Your rhetoric is undoubtedly good but, unfortunately, your grasp of facts is weak. Even devious at times.
Mark Sammut Sassi – Żebbuġ
Woman of great faith
Undoubtedly, Queen Elizabeth II was an amazingly loved and exceptional lady.
Equally undoubtedly, she was impeccably deeply committed to her people and her country. This unique country offered her the possibility to delight in the splendour of London and magnificent English countryside.
With all her possessions, worldly and otherwise, she lived an abundant life of selfless and loving service with a sense of duty and a sense of humour. Her generosity was sealed when she was given the final opportunity – as it were – to make people happy and feel great while enjoying her platinum jubilee celebrations. The outpouring of affection when paying last respects a few months later was even more eloquent than the numerous well-deserved expressed attributes.
She was a humanitarian and a unifier, inspiring others to seek and taste the fruit of reconciliation. Above all, she was a woman of great faith as the anecdote narrated by Rev. Canon Simon Godfrey in Magħkom, presented by Lea Hog, beautifully demonstrates.
Deeply moved by this experience, he spoke of how the queen reacted to the reference to Jesus Christ’s second coming, saying she wished to be there. When asked why, she replied: “So that I could lay my crown at His feet.”
There could be no better legacy than the in-depth significance of her words. What a profoundly wise expression of pure love for Jesus, the King of Kings in whose presence this remarkable monarch now lives for eternity.
Josephine Vella – Birkirkara
Thank you
On September 23, I was waiting at the Burmarrad bus stop (code 1205) for a bus.
I wish to thank the Malta Public Transport for informing me, with a notice stuck there that, on June 22, 2022, the 250 bus would not pass through there. My heartfelt thanks to those responsible for fixing that notice and keeping it there for three months.
Joseph Cachia – St Paul’s Bay