In an article ‘Who speaks for the foetus’ published online on May 21, 2019, a doctor in a medical journal stated that “To speak for the foetus and to be his advocate is an appropriate assignment for a paediatrician. In keeping with the modern trend in the relationship between the obstetrician and the paediatrician, the obstetrician now recognises that he is responsible for two patients, the mother and her unborn child.”
This is what many believe many paediatricians and obstetricians in Malta profess at present.
The preamble to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted in 1989 in paragraph nine states: “... as indicated in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, ‘the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth’.”
Maltese legislation similarly protects the rights of the unborn child. According to the Commissioner for Children Act, act VII of 2003, one of the functions of the commissioner is precisely “to promote special care and protection, including adequate legal protection, for children both before and after birth”.
The genetic material of a separate human foetus is unique, determinative and complete. It can be distinguished from any other nonhuman species. Once implanted, it requires only time and nutrition. Only two possible futures are open to it. It can become a live human being or a dead human foetus.
According to the National Cancer Institute in the US, a paediatrician is a doctor who has special training in preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases and injuries in children. Paediatricians also help manage other problems that affect children, such as developmental disorders and behavioural, emotional and social problems.
A paediatrician’s mission is to protect the physical, mental and social well-being of their patients. It is widely understood that a child’s well-being is intimately linked to that of his/her parents.
Medical studies have found out that when a mother feels happy and calm, it allows her baby to develop in a happy, calm environment. However, emotions, such as stress, anxiety and depression, can increase particular hormones in her body, which can affect her baby’s developing body and brain.
The genetic material of a separate human foetus is unique, determinative and complete- Tony Mifsud
Animal studies show that babies exposed to more stress hormones while they are in the womb are more likely to have higher anxiety levels in the brain.
On August 20, 2022 Lovin Malta reported that a pregnant Maltese paediatrician spoke out against abortion arguing that “she has no right to end the life of her unborn daughter”.
Veronica Bartolo’s plea was published by Malta’s Doctors for Life. She said that “while the popular pro-choice battle cry ‘My body, my choice’ can be empowering to women, it shouldn’t apply to abortion. The phrase captures the idea of bodily autonomy, whereby I do what I want with my own body. I believe it to be a heartfelt feminist cry in response to centuries of discrimination and oppression of women in societies dominated by men.
“To a certain extent, the phrase isn’t only understandable and liberating but necessary and just. But then there is a fine line that we should not cross, whereby I get lost in fighting for my rights instead of fighting for what is right. Violent choices are not OK.
“Within me for the past nine months, my daughter has been growing and living, inside me her heart is beating and that heart isn’t going to stop. Her life is not mine to take and her body is not my choice.”
Many ex-abortion doctors during the last decades, especially in the US, have testified before institutions in their own land that unborn children are certainly alive since they possess the hallmark of life – the ability to reproduce dying cells.
The Prenatal Paediatrics Institute at the Children’s Hospital, in Washington DC provides the most advanced and comprehensive prenatal care for unborn babies. It offers pregnant families state-of-the-art prenatal diagnostics and treatment in a compassionate and supportive environment.
Tony Mifsud studied politics and social affairs in Oxford.