Rights denied women

Revel Barker (November 21) is barking up the wrong tree (pun intended) if he thinks that I would not reply to his provocative letter. Is there anything else to write about in Malta, other than corruption, the murder of a journalist, the rape of our countryside, or the uglification of our built environment?

What about shady deals including a state guarantee of millions for the gas power station or billions in concessions of three public hospitals to an unknown company and goodness knows what else?

Protesters at a pro-choice meeting in Valletta. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

Rather than bore readers with more of the same, we at Doctors for Choice Malta focus our activism on what matters to us. We are doctors. We care for patients. We look after women and children and their families. We believe in promoting the right of women to decide whether and when to get pregnant, that is, comprehensive sexual education and free effective contraception including universal access to the morning-after pill.

In Malta, where reproductive rights lag behind those of other European countries, women find it difficult to obtain reliable and unbiased information on their limited reproductive options.

Hence, we launched the Family Planning Advisory Service (2778 2758), now reached by almost one woman every day in Malta. Further, I sincerely hope Barker revels (pun again intended) in our promotion of fundamental human rights such as that of abortion in cases of non-viable pregnancy, rights that are unfortunately denied to women in Malta. We will leave the sleaze to others to comment upon.

Isabel Stabile – St Julian’s

Protecting life

Once again, yet another long letter by Isabel Stabile (November 18) attacking six pro-life letters that had appeared in previous recent issues of the Times of Malta, including mine of October 31.

Not only does she completely ignore my reasoning but she has the temerity to ask me to campaign for pharmacies to remain open from noon on Sunday, through the night, until 9am on Monday, to enable women to indulge in unlimited unprotected sex and then seek to destroy any possible pregnancy. The mind boggles.

She uses euphemisms like abortion, choice, termination, instead of murder or infanticide. She dehumanises the developing baby by calling him/her embryo/foetus and a baby only after birth. Has she seen footage of the baby developing in his/her mother’s womb? Does she approve of “near and full-term abortions” where the baby’s head is deliberately crushed as he/she enters this earth? If that is not murder, what is?

Does she adhere to the Hippocratic Oath or does her misguided brain somehow work round that one as well?

Finally, I agree with Revel Barker (November 21) that enough has been said on this subject and I do not intend to write again, hoping that, eventually, Stabile will see the light and start protecting life instead of destroying it.

Joseph Caruana – Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq

Killing of the weak

I thank Christopher Barbara for confirming what I wrote on November 14 when I accused him of promoting abortion and the despicable culture of eugenics, which justifies the killing of the weak. He resorts to accusing me of being untruthful without being specific.

On the other hand, I am specific.

He lies when he says that in Malta, when a woman’s life is at risk during pregnancy, she is denied treatment that might result in the loss of her child. He should also know that when Malta joined the EU, it was clearly stated that the EU cannot impose abortion on Malta. Any reference to their treaties is, therefore, a waste of time.

Thirdly, no one has the right to eliminate the life of another. Proposing the killing of the weak and those who suffer is false compassion.

I leave it to those who still have a functioning conscience to determine whose stand is callous.

Once again, towards the latter part of his article, he regurgitates the usual mantra of so-called women’s rights that result in the killing of their offspring.

It is always so easy to dismiss the rights of the weak and play up to those who have not the slightest sense of ethics and morality.

Klaus Vella Bardon – Balzan

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