The recent approved but wrongly termed ‘abortion’ bill unleashed a tsunami of comments from all four winds. So it’s critical that we follow Mary Poppins’ advice when she said: “Practically perfect people never permit sentiment to muddle their thinking.”
Likewise, we should not let muddled thinking derail rational thinking and good will.
The undisputed aim of most people was and is to safeguard life, especially the life of a mother facing the harrowing decision of having to choose life-saving medical treatment that might result in the loss of her offspring.
Such medical procedures are not abortion, as so eloquently explained by American neonatologist Kendra Kolb.
The justified fears of most Maltese across the social and political spectrum was that the original bill would lead to the introduction of abortion, which is the deliberate intention to terminate the life of the unborn.
Last year’s misrepresented Prudente case was exploited by our vociferous ‘pro-choice’ local minority. This was clearly exposed in the June 23, 2023, edition of the TV programme Opinjoni. To achieve their aims the pro-choice lobby muddied the facts with the claim that abortion saves women’s lives. Abetted by the mainstream media locally and abroad, they tried to sell us the idea that abortion is a positive right for women. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This is why there are laws. Very often, evil acts are committed with good intentions. There are always a million excuses to claim that laws restrict freedom. An obvious example is the imposition of wearing safety belts or banning smoking in public places.
And though much maligned, traditional wisdom has shown that obedience freely exercised is the highest form of freedom. When we respect others, when we cherish life and marriage, when we fight for the integrity of the life-sustaining environment, for the human dignity of the underdog, we are embracing the principle that life and goodness and beauty are worth fighting for.
But in the battle for life, nothing comes for free. Goodness and right behaviour does not arise spontaneously. Life is a perennial struggle between egoism and altruism, between good and evil.
Any sober meditation on our life is always disturbing as it exposes how far short we have failed in living out and upholding our professed ideals. Sadly, it is always easy to highlight the faults of others and so difficult and arduous to recognise one’s own.
When asked what’s wrong with the world, G. K. Chesterton wrote back and signed his name to highlight that the fault lies within us. And we have plenty of homework to do on the subject that really matters: ourselves.
Laws are crucial to show us the boundaries we should respect. Yet, if we want to promote a culture of life and well-being, laws are not enough. We need to promote a cultural change that shows what is right and wrong. More importantly, we must strive to encourage people to willingly choose the right lifestyles and life-enhancing policies.
The law on medical treatment for women facing a life-threatening situation should be welcomed. The safeguarding of life has been upheld. Let us be thankful that reason prevailed and let us not impute wrong motives to those who held different views.
Let us constantly try to win hearts and minds, as the battle for life demands constant vigilance and commitment.