Malta – Forty, pregnant, and seeking an abortion

A trend is emerging in Malta among women aged 40 and over, who already have children and who experience unintended pregnancies despite using contraception. The Journal catches up with Doctors for Choice - Malta’s Dr Natalie Psaila.

The Journal
Jan 16, 2024

If you think that unwanted pregnancies are exclusive to teenagers, think again.
“An emerging trend that we’re observing is among individuals aged 40 and over, who already have children, who say that they have used contraception, but still experience unintended pregnancies,” reveals Dr Natalie Psaila, a Maltese doctor who make it to the BBC’s top 100 inspirational women in 2023.

These women confirm using CE certified condoms but, despite these precautions, they still get pregnant, she pointed out. “These condoms shouldn’t fail easily but no contraceptive is fail-proof. This is why these couples are getting pregnant. Condoms have about 10% failure rate. Something like the pull-out method – a favourite with the Maltese – has a 40% failure rate.”

Continued: https://thejournal.mt/forty-pregnant-and-seeking-an-abortion/

Malta – Woman fined €58 for assaulting Doctors for Choice activist

Jennifer Grech said that pro-choice messages ‘hurt her feelings’

January 2, 2024
Edwina Brincat

A woman, found guilty of assaulting a pro-choice doctor during a peaceful roadside protest, later saying that the message on the activist’s placard “hurt” her feelings, was fined €58.

Judgment was delivered on the incident which took place on May 9, 2022, when Isabelle Stabile, a gynaecologist and member of Doctors for Choice, was assaulted by Jennifer Grech during a protest on Aldo Moro Street, Marsa.

Continued: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/woman-fined-58-assaulting-doctors-choice-activist.1076001

02.01.2024

News

anti-choice violence

Astrid May Grima

Doctors For Choice Malta

Malta – We aid and abet abortion

People call the free Abortion Doula Service because they know they will receive abortion advice according to best practice

Christopher Barbara, Natalie Psaila and Isabel Stabile
Nov 20, 2023

We refer to ‘Inciting murder of the unborn” (October 6) in which senior colleagues call for the police to investigate us for providing information and support to those persons in Malta who seek an abortion. This is preposterous.

We have absolutely no qualms letting people know exactly how to order pills online, how to take them and what complications are possible as well as the precautions they need to take to avoid them. We do this because we are medical professionals and are obliged to provide every support possible to any person that needs our help.

Continued: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/we-aid-abet-abortion.1067760

Maltese society divided over arrest of woman who had abortion

By Alice Taylor and Spiros Sideris | EURACTIV.com and EURACTIV.gr
Jun 6, 2023

The arrest of a Maltese woman for having a medical abortion at home has divided Maltese society, with pro-choice groups calling for urgent changes to the law and staging protests, and the prime minister declaring it makes him feel ‘uncomfortable’.

Malta has a total ban on abortions, even in the case of rape, incest, or if the woman’s life is in danger. The unnamed woman reportedly took abortion pills, likely imported from abroad as they are illegal in the country, and had a medical abortion. She was subsequently arrested and given a conditional discharge.

Continued: https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/maltese-society-divided-over-arrest-of-woman-who-had-abortion/

06.06.2023

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arresting women for abortion

decriminalisation of abortion

Doctors For Choice Malta

Doctors for Life Malta

Maltese Socialist Party

Robert Abela

self-managed abortion

total abortion ban

Women’s Rights Foundation

Woman in Malta charged in court for having abortion

Pro-choice groups condemn rare enforcement of country’s total ban on terminations

Agence France-Presse in Rome
Thu 1 Jun 2023

A woman in Malta has been charged in court for having an abortion, in a rare enforcement of the country’s total ban on terminations.

The Women’s Rights Foundation of Malta said: “What should have never happened [has] happened today: a Maltese woman was brought to court facing charges of having a medical abortion at home.”

Its legal team had helped the unnamed woman throughout the proceedings, it said, “and she was let go with a conditional discharge”, without giving further details.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/01/woman-malta-charged-in-court-for-having-abortion-pro-choice-condemn-rare-enforcement-total-ban-termination

01.06.2023

News

Doctors For Choice Malta

Dr Natalie Psaila

prosecuting women for abortion

Robert Abela

Women's Rights Foundation

Change is inevitable: people demand the human right to access safe abortion across Europe

Amnesty International
September 28, 2021

Europe has been at the forefront of the global trend towards the liberalization of abortion laws for more than 60 years. But there is still work to do to give all women and people who can become pregnant access to safe and legal abortion.

Almost all EU member states have now legalized abortion on request or on broad socio-economic grounds and, in the last few years, several European countries have enacted important progressive reforms or taken steps to remove harmful procedural and regulatory barriers that can impede access to abortion.

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/09/change-is-inevitable-people-demand-the-human-right-to-access-safe-abortion-across-europe/

Abortion Counselling services to be launched in Malta

July 10, 2021
Women on Web

On June 23th, the European Parliament voted in favour of the Matic Report, and in doing so passed a resolution which calls on EU countries to ensure women are offered high quality, comprehensive and accessible sexual and reproductive health and rights, and to remove all barriers impeding them from using these services. Malta consistently falls short of these standards, with national policies needing urgent review and updating to comply to this resolution.

On Sunday July 11th at 9am, members of Doctors for Choice Malta will announce means of accessing the services supported by the Matic Report, and demonstrate counselling as an example of good clinical practice

Continued:
https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/21060/press-release-abortion-counselling-services-to-be-launched-in-malta

Malta – Let’s Talk Abortion: MMSA Abortion Debate

Antónia Fortunato
28/04/2021

Two weeks ago, I watched a debate organised by Malta Medical Students’ Association (MMSA). Under the theme of the legalisation of abortion, Doctors for Choice (DC) and Doctors for Life (DL) presented their cases. As you may have guessed from their names, DC are pro-abortion and DL are not.

In Malta, the law is adamant: any woman that tries to abort — and any practitioner that helps her — faces prison for up to four years. Yet 300-400 Maltese women travel abroad every year to have an abortion. Despite the law, many others buy illegal abortion pills and terminate their pregnancy on the island. According to DC, women facing complications will hesitate to seek medical help under the fear of being prosecuted.

Continued: https://www.um.edu.mt/think/lets-talk-abortion-mmsa-abortion-debate/

28.04.2021

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Opinion

Antónia Fortunato

decriminalization of abortion

Doctors For Choice Malta

Doctors for Life Malta

Malta Medical Students' Association

Malta – Science should guide all our health policies… including abortion

Science should guide all our health policies... including abortion
Our total abortion ban is no less dangerous or unhinged (or even idiotic, for that matter) than Donald Trump’s notorious recommendation to ‘drink bleach’ as an antidote to COVID-19

Raphael Vassallo
5 May 2020

I guess it had to take a major global health emergency to make us finally understand what should really have been obvious all along. Yes, Dr Fearne: our national policies should be based on scientific advice... and not on popular opinion, electoral concerns, or (still less) the demands of powerful lobby groups.

It is, in fact, thanks to the health authorities’ science-based approach that Malta has so far been spared the nightmare scenarios we have seen unfolding almost everywhere else in the world. As Fearne himself put it last Friday: “We are in today’s positive situation because from the very beginning we abided by what science was telling us, and what the numbers were suggesting.”

Continued: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/blogs/102116/science_should_guide_all_our_health_policies_including_abortion#.XrLpuMB7lPY