A woman charged with assaulting a pro-choice doctor during a peaceful roadside protest in Marsa told court she had targeted Isabelle Stabile's placard because the message “hurt” her feelings.

Jennifer Grech was on Monday charged in court over the incident that took place last year.

Stabile, a gynaecologist and member of Doctors for Choice, took the witness stand in the summary proceedings, explaining how on May 9, 2022, at around 8.30am, she was standing near the bus stop on Aldo Moro Street, Marsa. 

A placard she held in her hands sent out a message along the lines that an abortion was a woman’s choice. Suddenly, a female driver stopped her car, holding up traffic and angrily made a beeline towards the activist.

“It’s you again! Go away!” the woman allegedly snapped, telling Stabile that “abortion is murder and you are a murderer”.

Although in her initial version, the alleged victim had stated that the aggressor peppered her verbal assault with foul words in Maltese, at the witness stand she withdrew that part of her statement saying she “did not recall exactly those words in Maltese”. 

“I told her [the accused] that no permit was required for a peaceful protest.” 

The driver started walking towards her car when she suddenly turned back, ran towards Stabile and pushed her “full force in the chest”. 

Stabile held on with her free hand and managed to snap a photo of her alleged aggressor before the woman drove away. 

The two had allegedly clashed in another incident a month or so before. Stabile identified the accused as the same person in both cases. The earlier episode did not involve any physical violence. 

Grech had also posted comments on the Doctors for Choice Facebook page following the first clash, saying: “I stopped you and if I see you again, I will do the same”. 

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Jason Azzopardi, Stabile said that the accused’s actions were directed at her, and not the placard. 

Asked about some Facebook comments concerning people with a disability, Stabile confirmed that she “hadn’t written those words”. 

The accused herself took the witness stand, giving her version of events: “I was driving past and I stopped. I tried to remove that placard… I wanted to stop her from promoting abortion because every baby has the right to be born”. 

She said that after first telling Stabile to remove the placard, she went to her car to call the Ħamrun police to seek their assistance in stopping the protest. 

Asked whether she recalled the exact words on the board held up by Stabile for all to see, Grech said she did not but said that “it had something to do with abortion, for sure”. 

Asked about the traffic at the time, she said she had stopped by the roadside and had not obstructed the traffic flow. 

'I tried to knock that placard out of her hands'

“I have nothing against the lady [Stabile]. I don’t even know her. I pushed the placard not her,” insisted the accused. Stabile had refused to put away the placard “because she’s in favour [of abortion]”, she added.

Asked about her behaviour, the woman said that the pro-choice message hurt her. 

Before that incident, someone had replied to her anti-abortion post on the  Doctors for Choice Facebook page and that message had struck a personal chord. 

“If I have a disabled child, would you bring it up for me,” someone had asked. 

“If necessary, yes,” Grech had retorted.

“My brother was disabled. I saw him die slowly day by day for 40 years. He died two months [after the confrontation],” explained the accused, her voice cracking.

Under cross-examination by parte civile lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic, she confirmed that she had confronted Stabile in Paola a month or so before the Marsa incident. 

She admitted that she was angry at the time. 

“I was in my car with my brother that time,” she recalled.

The accused was charged with misusing electronic equipment, insulting and threatening the victim as well as assaulting her.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Astrid May Grima, heard submissions by the prosecution and the defence before deferring the case for judgment. 

Inspector Sarah Kathleen Zerafa prosecuted.

Lawyer Jason Azzopardi was defence counsel. 

Lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic appeared parte civile.