Abortion and healthcare

I can assure Giovanni Bonello who, in his letter ‘Abortion – self-defence’ (November 29) described my actions as an “ill-informed sortie in the field of law”, that I did nothing of the sort. This is because abortion sits firmly in the field of healthcare – specifically women’s healthcare – and it is when legislators make their own “ill-informed sortie” in the field of medicine by restricting access to this essential healthcare service that women are harmed.

According to Bonello, someone accused of performing an abortion in Malta could invoke the concept of “self-defence” against an embryo or foetus. Alas, it is customary for a person acting in self-defence to be charged in court and must then try to convince the bench or jury that they did indeed act in self-defence. It is precisely because I do not wish to see vulnerable women who have abortions or doctors who help them being hauled to court that I would like to see abortion decriminalised.

Bonello’s opinion on Malta’s abortion law is not shared by other members of his profession who believe that the act of abortion is always illegal without exception. Neither is it shared by the World Health Organisation, which, in its Global Abortion Policies Database, lists Malta among the countries where abortion is not allowed to preserve a woman’s life.

Restrictive abortion laws are a good example of how too much red tape on what happens between a doctor and their patient can prove deadly. The reality is that while legal professionals argue the details, such as how unwell someone must become before one can execute ‘self-defence’ on a menacing foetus, you can have a woman in hospital inching closer to death while her doctors are unable to act in a timely manner in case they fall foul of the law.

It is worth highlighting that Savita, in Ireland and Izabela, in Poland died under restrictive laws that, at least, expressly allowed life-saving abortions, something which Malta’s law does not have.

What happens between a doctor and a patient with a complicated or unwanted pregnancy should not be predetermined by legislators. These are often delicate situations, and the doctor will need to weigh clinical risk and the wishes and values of their patient. How much importance is given to the preserving the pregnancy should be determined jointly by doctors and their patients, not dictated by the law.

Abortion is a standard healthcare procedure with clear international guidelines on how it is to be done. Like other healthcare procedures, it has its indications, risks and potential benefits. It should, thus, be treated at law as a medical procedure and not be criminalised.

Christopher Barbara, Doctors for Choice, Naxxar.

Very irregular mail delivery

My copy of the weekly UK publication The Tablet is atrociously irregular. Not only is delivery very late and, therefore, news become stale but there are occasions when I get no less than three copies simultaneously!

I have ascertained that dispatch from the UK is always, I repeat, always, right on time. This delay at the local end is unacceptable and Maltapost plc should look into this complaint and rectify it forthwith.

Thank you.

Amabile Galea, Balzan

Rose-tinted glasses

I refer to Kevin Hodkin’s letter (November 25) titled ‘Keep the Maltese islands tidy’, in which he extolled the virtues of Harold Wilson’s ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ campaign and “just how it’s paid off”. However, when he visits the UK it seems he fails to see the piles of rat-infested household waste on the streets!

He also neglects the fact that most councils in the UK only collect household waste every two weeks and some even every three weeks!

He has also failed to mention the average €1,680 council tax bill.

Hodkin, like many others, is a guest in this country and, as such, should be grateful that he is not one of the five million plus people waiting for operations in the UK.

 The UK is not the land of milk and honey he makes it out to be! Take off your retrospective rose-tinted glasses and see things as they really are.

David Milverton, Munxar

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