Around 150 activists gathered in Valletta on Sunday afternoon for a pro-life demonstration, marching down Merchants Street and back up Republic Street accompanied by a marching band.

They held up placards displaying pictures of babies and mothers and slogans including “pro-life = pro-women" and “we are the pro-life generation” alongside Maltese flags.

The group of all ages, including families with young children and elderly attendees, were in good spirits as they walked through the streets to the sound of popular songs including Bella Ciao, Sweet Caroline and I will Survive.

Organised by pressure group Life Network Foundation Malta, the demonstration culminated in a series of speeches and a short video presentation at Jean De Valette square.

Addressing the crowd, fourth year medical student Michela Agius said she wanted to leave an impact that “assures equality for every person, including those in the womb”, asking how society could preach equality without assuring the right to life.

“How can we preach equality if we do not assure the basic right to life? Without it, we cannot speak of another’s life,” she said.

Reaching out to women facing unplanned pregnancies, Agius said: “We are here to tell you that you have all the support you need.”

Photo: Jonathan Borg.

'Pregnancy is not a disease’

Joining the demonstration were two doctors from the US; American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists CEO Christine Francis and former abortionist-turned-pro-life physician John Bruchalski.

Describing Malta as a “light on the hill for the rest of the world,” Francis said that while women at her native US had access to abortion, the service was “not improving our care of women.”

Stressing her stance against abortion and that of others was “rooted in neither politics nor religion” - while noting many in the movement were "proud people of faith” - Francis said it was instead grounded in science.

Asserting that “96 per cent of biologists are firm that life begins at conception,” she said it was “rooted in common sense that pregnancy is not a disease and death is not healthcare.”

Turning to Maltese healthcare workers, she said they were the “last line of defence” while stressing there was “no medical reason” to carry out an abortion.

Former abortionist-turned-pro-life physician John Bruchalski was one of two US doctors to address the crowd on Sunday. Photo: Jonathan Borg.

‘Network for life alive and well’

Joining Francis in praising Malta, Bruchalski described the country as the “light in the middle of the Mediterranean” and that Sunday’s turnout showed the “network for life is alive and well.”

Calling his medical training to be able to carry out abortions “indoctrination”, the US doctor said he had carried out the procedure “before it is necessary, before there are bones in the little one, after the bones have developed and at the late term where you’re dismembering or poisoning human life”.

Explaining his mind had been changed “by God’s good grace”, Bruchalski said he was “proud to stand with doctors for life in Malta.”

“Continue believing in choice; We are pro-choice, but the humane choice," he said.

‘Malta a sanctuary’

Speaking shortly before the end of the demonstration, Life Network Foundation Malta CEO Miriam Scibberas stressed that life began when an egg was successfully fertilised, calling Malta a “sanctuary that still protects life."

Thanking the assembled crowd, she said they were “a voice for babies in the womb”.

Photo Jonathan Borg.

Demonstration attendee Cynthia Formosa said those concerned about pregnancy should use contraceptives.

“If you don’t want kids, you need to take precautions before and you have a right to do so,” she said, adding that in the event of a parent was unable or unwilling to bring up a child “there are other people that would like to.” 

“There are choices, but sometimes we only focus on abortion,” she said.

Abortion has proved a controversial topic in Malta, with the country having among the strictest abortion laws in the world. It is the only EU state that prohibits abortion in all situations, even in cases of rape.

In June last year, former Health Minister Chris Fearne announced a slew of amendments to a so-called abortion bill going through parliament in what pro-choice campaigners called a “betrayal” of the reform.

Photo: Jonathan Borg.

The amendments mean abortion is only allowed if a woman's life is at immediate risk, with terminations only allowed when all other treatments are exhausted.

In September, pro-choice activists marched through the streets of Valletta demanding the government decriminalise abortion.