Abortion is not the solution

Victor Laiviera (February 5) writes eloquently about the trauma women face when raped.

Rape is a most heinous and violent crime. No one can ever forget a tragic trauma in one’s life, let alone one as aggressive and vile as rape.

The rapist should be swiftly tracked down and punished accordingly. Yet, I am sure that, although well deserved, Laiviera would not advocate the death sentence for this atrocious crime.

Yet, in the unlikely event of the rape victim getting pregnant, Laiviera seems very ready to pass the death sentence on the innocent, the victim’s offspring.

Is one’s life worth less because of the way one is conceived?

Every woman facing a difficult situation when pregnant deserves the maximum support of the community through family members, friends, counsellors etc.

I agree with Laiviera that, in certain states of the US, the rapist gets parental rights without consent of the victim. However, such a disgraceful situation can easily be redressed legally and does not justify abortion.

Yet, it is wearisome to see how pro-abortion advocates will scrape the barrel to seek out the most unlikely and rare possibilities to introduce abortion.

Finally, there is no doubt that a society that demeans women by trivialising sex, promoting pornography and treating women as glorified sex toys has a higher incidence of rape.

It is in the interest of our society and, especially, in the interest of women that we oppose such a corrosive and degrading culture.

KLAUS VELLA BARDON – Balzan

Transport failure

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia has finally admitted (January 22) that public transport in Malta is not an efficient alternative to cars. I must say, he took quite a long time to realise this.

The government’s transport record is not a good one. There are too many cars on our roads, last year we had a record number of road fatalities and public transport is unreliable and inefficient. We have not forgotten Labour’s promise to have the roads done according to EU standards within seven years. Labour has been in power for 10 years and all we have is traffic jams all over Malta.

Another case in point is the idea of a metro, which cost the government €1 million in advertising paid out of taxpayer’s money. Money which was wasted as it was all propaganda for the election.

Bus lanes, where possible, were introduced by the PN in government. Labour, as usual, tried to ridicule this, saying that when roads are widened there would be no need for them. Now, Farrugia is thinking of setting up a board to study the situation again.

On another note, a few days ago, on boarding a bus to Valletta from Mosta, a young foreign girl who was occupying a seat reserved for the elderly offered me her seat. I thanked her. On taking my seat, I noticed that, near me, there was a middle-aged lady with a puppy in a buggy. Is it acceptable now for a pet in a buggy to occupy a seat reserved for an elderly person?

EMILY BARBARO-SANT – Mosta

It’s pointless voting

Many people believe that in Malta it doesn’t matter who gets elected because the voters will be ignored. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Alan Cooke answered his own question in his letter regarding voting by foreign residents living in Malta (February 5).

He referred to the decline in the percentage of Maltese people who think it’s important to vote in general elections and was disappointed that foreign residents were not given the vote.

I can only assume that he has only recently moved to the island and failed to carry out any research beforehand. The reason for the decline is because the Maltese people, who also pay taxes and income tax, finally realised that it’s pointless voting because it doesn’t matter who gets elected, the voters (apart from building contractors, etc.) will be ignored and nepotism and corruption will still exist whoever is elected; it’s part of the culture.

I left 53 years ago and visit family relatively frequently, the last time being just to sell the property which we had once planned to live in when I retired. Once Comino and Cominetto, and every protruding rock around the island, is built on, our vision of retirement would have turned into a catastrophe.

Alan, just try and relax and enjoy what’s left to enjoy on the island, if anything.

PAUL BRINCAU – Uxbridge, UK