Zero need, zero guilt

I recently reached out to my doctor as someone offered €1,000,000 for my left eye. This seemed like a clear win: financial security for my family and sight for a blind person, while I retained my right eye. After all, this is my body we’re talking about. Therefore, it’s my choice what to do with it.

Regrettably, my doctor’s answer was brief: “Forget it. This is illegal.” In Malta and throughout the civilised world, the law prohibits the sale of organs. Societies recognise human life and body parts as inviolable rather than tradeable products. If the law restricts us from selling an eye or a kidney, it remains illogical to argue that “bodily autonomy” permits the ending of a separate human life.

A guest, not a part

The slogan “my body, my choice” often misrepresents the biological reality of the baby. From conception, a human being possesses a unique DNA blueprint entirely distinct from the mother’s.

We all began as a single cell, progressing continuously through a seamless journey to maturity, where we reach between 30 and 40 trillion cells. Like a traveller staying in a house, the guest remains an independent individual despite being inside. This child is a distinct human being “visiting” for nine months before moving on to lead an independent life and eventually contributing to the creation of the next generation.

The moving line of science

I view the arguments regarding “personhood” as another logical fallacy. Basing personhood on survival outside the womb is a very shaky rule.

Fifty years ago, a baby born at 28 weeks faced impossible odds. Today, advanced technology allows children born at 21 or 22 weeks to thrive. For this reason, I avoid making a child’s value dependent on medical budgets or the skill of doctors. A person remains a person because of human nature, regardless of proximity to medical machines.

A shrinking society with empty cradles

Last time I checked, pregnancy was the essential biological mechanism for the continuation of society. If every mother exercised a “right” to end it, the human race would face extinction within a generation. As Malta faces a “demographic winter” with record-low birth rates, shouldn’t we actually be discussing how to support families rather than legalising the ending of lives? Every life lost is a missing piece of Malta’s future.

A hidden history: the corporate-state trap

Here’s another interesting point that is often downplayed. The “radical autonomy” movement was shaped by the US’s Cold War strategy. The CIA secretly steered narratives through front organisations like the Independent Research Service, led by Gloria Steinem and her ilk. They wanted to project an image of the Western woman as a fiercely individualistic figure, “free” from traditional family structures.

This narrative created the perfect “unencumbered worker” for the corporate world. It is significantly cheaper for a company if an employee chooses abortion rather than requiring maternity leave and childcare. As they hailed abortion as a “symbol of liberty”, they inadvertently served corporate interests. It is ironic to see people on the left promoting the product of the US capitalist agenda rather than demanding a society that supports careers and families simultaneously. A narrative that, ultimately, projects children as hurdles to promotion or career advancement.

Rights and realities

While some call abortion a “human right”, logic dictates that the Right to Life is the primary “gateway” right. Without existence, liberties, like freedom of speech, are meaningless. Arguments like “if you don’t like it, don’t do it” collapse when applied to any other injustice. The law exists precisely to protect the vulnerable from the choices of the powerful. And there I was thinking that left-leaning movements exist to protect the vulnerable!

In tragic cases like rape, we must respond with immense compassion and empathy. This is a very difficult situation with no easy answer. However, I always find myself wondering whether we should apply the death penalty to an innocent child for the father’s crimes.

The true measure of our progress is found in the lives we sustain, rather than the lives we allow to vanish

My life experience taught me a vital lesson: avoid irreversible actions during moments of great difficulty. I reiterate that it is extremely hard for the mother to make a decision during such a difficult time, as it is always a double-edged sword: whatever the decision, she may live to regret that moment she took that decision.

The sad thing is that abortion is irreversible, while the decision of keeping the baby can be reversed by offering the child for adoption once she or he is born.

Compassion over courts: the case for decriminalisation

I feel that it is our duty to protect both the life in the womb and the woman in the room. Mothers seeking abortion often feel trapped by abuse or poverty; they deserve empathy rather than a courtroom. This is why we must decriminalise the act for the woman.

Some may argue that decriminalisation green-lights abortion. I retort that while heroin addiction remains illegal, we (rightly so) provide clean syringes to users for the common good. We choose harm reduction over heartless prosecution.

We should apply this “health first” principle to women, ensuring they can seek medical help with peace of mind. It is possible to say “no” to abortion while offering a warm, legal “yes” to the mother’s safety. Mothers need a helping hand rather than an iron fist.

The father’s voice

I’m a man, so I should refrain from having an opinion, let alone speaking out about this topic. Right? Well, as a father, I refuse to be silent. A child carries 50% of the father’s DNA. Furthermore, society is justified in expecting fathers to honour their responsibilities. If a man abandons his child, we hold him to account. We demand his presence and support because he is a parent.

For consistency’s sake, we must apply the concept of fatherhood even when it challenges the popular narrative. If we demand that a man takes 100% responsibility for a child after birth, he must have the right to care about that child’s survival before birth. We cannot insist on his duties as a father while telling him that he has no voice in the most fundamental decision of his child’s existence.

Fatherhood is a lifelong commitment that begins at the start of life.

The real win/win: making abortion irrelevant

Acknowledging the value of the unborn is only the first step. If life is a gift, we must take responsibility for the world that makes motherhood feel impossible.

In this article, I wanted to limit myself to only a selection of arguments, leaving others for further discussion. On the flipside, while certain “no-brainer” situations exist where abortion appears justified, this piece aims to move beyond the pro and anti-arguments addressed by others. I prefer to champion decriminalisation and the shared goal of rendering abortion irrelevant

Rather than focusing our energies on debating the subject endlessly (where people tend to hear to respond, rather than listen to understand), I think we should move beyond slogans and aim for a national mission.

We must ask: why are people resorting to abortion?

To achieve that, we need a profound study to identify every reason why mothers are considering abortion as an option: from domestic abuse to lack of housing or career fears. We must address these one by one. 

Malta currently sees 500+ abortions annually; we should aim to reduce this progressively to zero. While it is admittedly bullish and extremely ambitious, we should aim to remove the barriers that make abortion feel like a necessity, reaching a point where keeping the child is a no-brainer.

Let us build a Malta that is truly “pro-life” through practical love and support for every family. I believe that this is the ideal common ground between the “pro-life” and the “pro-choice” movements as I find it hard to believe that anyone would object to a situation where the real difficulties are addressed and lives are saved.

On the other hand, a nation that forces a woman to choose between her career and her child is a nation that has failed to value both persons. If a mother feels her only path to a future requires the loss of her child, the failure belongs to our society rather than the individual. The true measure of our progress is found in the lives we sustain, rather than the lives we allow to vanish.

Mark J. Galea began his career in the early 1990s as a journalist, radio talk show host and opinion columnist. After a decade in the media, he moved to HR management and later into management consultancy. With over 30 years of experience bridging communication, people management and strategic problem-solving, he writes with a focus on finding empathetic, win-win solutions to complex socioeconomic issues.