Labour MPs say abortion law leaves women too scared to seek medical help

Updated 5.50pm

Female Labour MPs and a Labour MEP have spoken out following the suspended jail sentence handed to a woman who had an abortion, saying that the law is frightening women from receiving necessary medical care.

Junior Minister Rebecca Buttigieg and MPs Rosianne Cutajar and Ramona Attard expressed their concern on social media after the court ruling, which saw a 28-year-old woman prosecuted after she sought assistance at Mater Dei Hospital.

The woman had told hospital staff she had taken abortion pills after experiencing pain. She was subsequently criminally charged by the police. 

Reacting to the case, Buttigieg said that whether one agrees with abortion or not, “many are convinced that a woman should not risk going to prison in such a case.”

She also questioned repeated claims that women in Malta are not at risk of prosecution.

“How many times have we heard that no one ever went to or risked jail? How many times have we heard that women are not actually being taken to court?” she wrote.

“Yesterday’s court sentence clearly exposes that the reality is different. Women in such situations should find compassion and help, not an inquisition and court procedures,” she added.

“Women should not be in a position of fear, where they are even afraid to seek medical help.”

Attard said "no woman should be criminalised for seeking the medical help she needs at risk to her life", saying it was an issue that went "beyond agreeing or disagreeing with abortion".

"It is easy to judge and it is easy to bury our heads in the sand that these things are not happening," she said.

Cutajar echoed those concerns, calling for the introduction of clear guidelines that safeguard women’s dignity, privacy and health.

Posting on Wednesday evening, Cutajar referenced another recent controversy involving public decency.

“Perhaps instead of discussing the thong incident, it would be wiser to talk about how we can protect women who seek care and assistance at Mater Dei without fear of ending up facing criminal charges in court,” she wrote.

Her post referred to a separate debate triggered by PN MP Graziella Attard Previ, who criticised people wearing visible thongs in public.

While acknowledging that the court had fulfilled its duty, Cutajar raised concerns about the message the sentence sends.

“The fact that in 2025 we are still reading about these cases worries me deeply,” she wrote.

She said the current legal approach sends a worrying signal to women: “Keep suffering at home, risk your health, but don’t go to the hospital for help.”

Cutajar urged the introduction of “clear, humane guidelines that safeguard a woman’s dignity, privacy, and health.”

This is not the first time Cutajar has addressed abortion publicly. In 2023, she spoke out about Bill 28's limitations and that it did not go far enough. 

Bill 28, which became law in 2023, permits abortion in very limited cases, only when a woman’s life is in immediate danger or if her health is in “grave jeopardy which may lead to her death.” Such procedures must be approved by three specialists, unless the case is an emergency.

Labour MEP Daniel Attard called for "support, not condemnation".

In a social media post on Thursday, he said "no woman should be reported for having an abortion.  What sense does it make to force doctors to report women, often vulenrable, who have already gone through it?"

Their calls were supported by independent MP Clayton Bartolo.

"I understand that the courts did their job, but I deeply fear that under the current law, we are risking that girls or women who need help will be afraid to seek it," he said.  

"And here we have paradoxes that are putting women’s lives at great risk.

"Because if a woman attempted to have an abortion on her own, and needs help but knows that the moment she comes forward she will be reported, what do you think she will do? She will continue to take risks and not seek help."

He said the issue extends to fathers and partners who might now feel that they cannot advise the women in their lives to get medical help if complications arise after an abortion.

Police statistics from the last 10 years show that four of the seven abortions reported to the police were flagged by doctors at Mater Dei. 

Lawyers have called for clear guidelines for doctors.

NGO Moviment Graffitti also reacted to the ruling, calling it “the result of an oppressive, outdated law.”

“A law that is rooted in control over women’s bodies rather than care for their health and autonomy,” the group said.

They argued that criminalising abortion “fuels fear, stigma, and silence,” and “pushes vulnerable people into dangerous situations and denies them dignity, safety, and justice.”

Describing abortion as “essential healthcare,” Graffitti called on government to “stop punishing people for making decisions about their own bodies, health, families, and futures.”

“The government claims to support equality and social justice,” they added, “however, they treat women as criminals for accessing basic medical care. Real progress means removing abortion from the criminal code. Anything less is a denial of human rights.”

Voice for Choice called on MPs to "put your money where your mouth is" and "act immediately" on what they termed an "injustice".

The coalition blamed the law "which can be changed by our representatives".

They called on the government "with the support of all MPs" to decriminalise abortion.

 "Abortion is not a moral crime, it is essential healthcare. Until it is removed from the Criminal Code, anyone in power who claims to care whilst refusing to legislate is complicit in this harm."

While many expressed support for the woman on social media, others defended the court’s decision, with some commenting, “Well done to the courts” and “Adoption not abortion.”

Malta retains some of the world’s most restrictive abortion laws. Abortion remains illegal in cases of rape, incest and severe foetal abnormality.