The discussion concerning abortion in Malta is not over yet, Prime Minister Robert Abela said ahead of the final parliamentary vote on legal amendments allowing pregnancy terminations in some circumstances.
Speaking during an interview on the Labour Party's radio station on Tuesday afternoon, Abela said the final vote on the bill will be taken in parliament on Wednesday.
"Tomorrow will be a historic day for our country," he said.
He insisted that the legal amendments were not about abortion and "never were". But Abela also acknowledged that the discussion about abortion has taken off.
"People are discussing it anyway, and no politician, Opposition party or Church can stop that in a democratic society," he said.
"And now we are living in another reality. Over the past months, many people told us the bill was unnecessary because nobody was ever charged in court with abortion anyway. But now it actually happened, and it was shocking."
He was referring to a case decided in court earlier this month, when a woman charged with abortion was given a conditional discharge for three years.
The woman was accused of having a medical abortion at home, according to Doctors for Choice, which revealed the news in a post on social media.
Abela said the woman was trapped in an abusive relationship and aborted when she got pregnant. Her boyfriend had reported her to the police, who had no option but to prosecute her because existing laws required that they do so.
When she admitted it in court, the court had no option but to find her guilty, the prime minister argued.
'Final vote' expected on Wednesday
Abortion is illegal in Malta under all circumstances, but that might change on Wednesday if MPs take the final vote on a bill that allows the termination of a pregnancy when a mother's life is at risk or her health is in "grave jeopardy that can lead to death."
It is a watered-down version of another bill that was originally presented late last year, and which would have originally allowed terminations when a mother's health was in "grave jeopardy", without elaborating.
The revised text also stipulates that decisions on terminations must be approved by three medical specialists and will only be considered only once all other treatments have been exhausted.
Those changes, announced on Friday, were welcomed by pro-life groups, the Opposition and the Church.
Pro-choice groups have reacted much more negatively, saying the government has "betrayed women" and that the changes are a step backwards.
'Law has not changed in principle'
Abela insisted the bill still has the protection of women at heart and would ensure doctors who terminate a pregnancy to save a woman do not risk ending up in court.
He also criticised the Nationalist Party and the Church, saying that up to a few weeks ago they were insisting the bill was not necessary because the current medical practices were sufficient, only to now endorse the bill and its new wording.
Discussions with different groups were not easy. Some thought the bill was too much, others thought it was too little, he said. And while some had genuine concerns over whether the government was trying to sneak abortion through the window, others were simply engaging in needless scaremongering.
Abela said the bill was never about the introduction of abortion and that the government's insistence was always on the issue of "grave health".
"The bill will allow doctors to take action before the woman is on the verge of death," he said.
"That's what I always wanted - to make sure that we do not pass a law that would force doctors to wait until the moment the woman is in danger of dying before doing something about it."