Pro-choice activists stood outside Valletta's City Gate on Saturday morning, holding up signs saying “I had an abortion”, ahead of a rally next week advocating for the decriminalisation of the procedure. 

The Voice for Choice coalition, a group of 14 organisations, will be organising their annual pro-choice rally in Valletta next week to mark International Safe Abortion Day. 

Malta retains the strictest abortion laws in Europe. 

Gathering at Pjazza Tritoni on Saturday morning, the activists said that abortion is common and normal and that “everybody loves someone who has had an abortion” - the slogan for their upcoming rally. 

Curious tourists looked on, with some expressing surprise that abortion is still illegal in Malta, while one dissenter walked through the activists and shouted “God have mercy”. 

At least one person per day makes use of abortion pills to have an abortion at home, the activists said, using drugs that are included in the WHO’s list of essential medicines. 

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

However, despite this, abortion remains a crime in Malta and anyone who has one still faces a three-year prison sentence if caught. They said a few months ago a woman was prosecuted and fined in Malta for getting an abortion after she was reported to the police by her abusive partner. 

“The State helped perpetuate the cycle of violence,” said Claria Cutajar, speaking on behalf of the activists. 

They argued that abortion bans do not stop abortions from happening but only serve to create feelings of fear, shame and guilt as well as reinforce stigmatisation and social ostracism. 

“People who have abortions should not be judged or criminalised. All residents of Malta deserve to be treated with respect. We should be granted the autonomy to decide what is best for ourselves, our bodies, our health, and our lives,” the activists said. 

“We stand here in solidarity with people who do not feel safe and comfortable speaking publicly about their own abortion experiences.” 

One such story was shared through a video on social media by the groups, which recreated the account of a woman who terminated a non-viable pregnancy at 23 weeks. 

Despite being a very much wanted child, the pregnancy was not viable. 

“The pain and trauma that you endure can never be expressed in words,” she said. 

“How can you forget sitting with happy pregnant women as you wait for an ultrasound to see if your baby has died,” she continued. 

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The worst feeling, she continued, was the guilt she felt when she understood the extent of the suffering of her unborn daughter. 

“The doctor told me it was normal not to feel her kick, because of her condition, she had swollen up so much inside me that she had no space to move,” the woman said. 

“I still feel guilty about it to this day, why didn’t I end the pregnancy earlier? Why did I prolong the suffering of my beloved daughter? Did I do it for her, or because I was afraid society would brand me a murderer?” 

Last June, Malta changed its abortion laws for the first time in history, with parliament approving a law allowing doctors to terminate a pregnancy in limited circumstances. It was a watered-down version of another bill originally presented late last year, and which would have originally allowed terminations when a mother's health was in "grave jeopardy".

The coalition is made up of: Academics for Choice, aditus foundation, Doctors for Choice, Grandparents for Choice, Integra Foundation, Lawyers for Choice, Malta Humanists Association, Men Against Violence, MGRM, Moviment Graffitti, Parents for Choice, Students for Choice, Women’s Rights Foundation and Young Progressive Beings.