The Life Network has urged all Maltese MEPs to vote against a motion in the European Parliament to include a so-called “right to abortion” in the EU Fundamental Rights Charter.
"The draft proposal to include the right to abortion in the EU Fundamental Rights Charter includes misinformation about the laws of Malta," the pro-life group said in a statement.
"In Malta there are no restrictions regarding medical lifesaving treatments available to women who are pregnant, as is claimed in the draft proposal. Further to this, Malta has the same maternal mortality rate as the EU average, demonstrating top quality maternity care."
The group pointed out that the EU-Malta accession Treaty provides that “nothing … shall affect the application in the territory of Malta of national legislation relating to abortion”.
While the European Parliament may vote on amending the Charter, it has no competence (legal right) to change the treaty, as all changes to the treaty must be agreed unanimously by each member state, not the European Parliament, the group said.
It added that the draft proposal uses the language of human rights, even though the Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes no reference to abortion, but rather states that “equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”. To deny the humanity of one group within the human family, in this case unborn babies, is a travesty of justice.
The Life Network said it was particularly concerning that Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer was one of the proposers of the draft which explicitly criticised Malta, in light of the fact that every member of the Maltese Parliament last year voted unanimously in favour of the current law in Malta relating to the protection of mothers and their unborn babies.
“This draft proposal, framed in human rights language, is the antithesis of human rights. It attempts to dehumanise the unborn child, giving him or her no rights whatsoever and turning children into commodities” the network said.