To abort or not to abort... that is the question

In the background of the imminent national debate regarding the proposal to decriminalise abortion, perhaps one should also reflect on and consider the following scenario: an offspring born out of a rape or incest situation. Should the natural mother eventually, although belatedly, decide, feel constrained or is moved to kill such offspring, she would definitely be charged with wilful homicide under our Criminal Code provisions, right?

So, on the same basis of our Criminal Code, why should she not also be so charged were she, in identical situations, to proceed to abort.

This should be the case if there is agreement that human life starts the moment there is conception.

The only exception where perhaps abortion should not be punished is when a woman’s life is in danger.

Yes, we will soon once more be bombarded with the “woman’s body, woman’s choice” argument for abortion.

This is basically based on the flawed reasoning that the foetus (unborn child) relies on the mother completely for its existence; the foetus is inside her body, therefore it is part of her body; or the foetus is a parasite.

Certainly, a newborn baby is just as dependent upon its parents for all of its needs as one not yet born, and will quickly die if not cared for.

Does this mean that the newborn baby can be neglected or killed outright?

As we see today in the infanticide debate regarding failed abortions where the child is born alive, the inevitable conclusion to draw if one is pro-abortion is affirmative.

Some “intellectuals” have been arguing for decades that it is perfectly permissible to allow disabled children to die, calling this “fourth-trimester abortion” or “post-natal abortion”.

Moving the goal post means more and more killing is inevitable.

Mark Said – Msida

The Gozo tunnel

Photo: Shutterstock.com

I cannot say whether the Gozo tunnel will ever materialise. The pros and cons are practically balanced and I hope that detailed and honest studies be carried out about all the aspects including the two ends of the tunnel.

It is not just the entrance and exit but even more about the approach roads.

Another big problem is where to dump the excavated material generated, irrespective if it is an immersed tunnel or sunk into place on top of the seabed instead of being bored underneath it.

This was one of the main headaches in the English Channel tunnel project.

In the 1980s, it was decided that the extreme eastern point of the famous white cliffs of Dover was deemed the most suitable of 60 proposed areas to dump chalk from tunnel excavations, and work began on it in 1988.

This resulted in 30 hectares that were totally reclaimed from the sea.

The land serves as the location of the cooling station on the English side of the tunnel, serving as the counterpart to the similar site at the French station in Sangatte.

I earnestly suggest and implore that before advancing any further with the Gozo tunnel studies of similar projects around the world be undertaken.

There are many tunnels, such as those that connect the islands on the western littoral of Norway.

The small size of our islands cannot afford any mistake, even if it a small one, and every precaution is of the utmost essence.

Let us learn from the experiences of others.

Frans Said – St Paul’s Bay

Behaving like children

The Nationalist Party members are acting like children who got a bar of chocolate when they wanted a lollipop.

Why can’t they accept that the leader of the opposition is now Bernard Grech?

My left leg tells me that Jason Azzopardi has a hand in all this. He just loves being in the limelight, whether it is in a negative or positive fashion.

Valerie Borg – Valletta

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