Robert Abela says the government has 'no mandate' to introduce abortion
Jacob Borg
Sep 28, 2025
Speaking during an interview on ONE TV by John Bundy, the prime minister said the government has no mandate to introduce abortion or hold a referendum on its introduction.
On Saturday, activists gathered outside the law courts in Valletta to once again call for the decriminalisation of abortion.
We now have a woman whose police conduct has been tarnished because she made use of a procedure that is perfectly legal across all EU countries but not her own
6 August 2025
Editorial
There seems to be widespread consensus that a woman who has had an abortion should not be sent to prison. Even among those who oppose abortion, some argue against imprisonment despite agreeing that abortion should remain a criminal act.
Malta’s draconian anti-abortion law contemplates a prison term for both woman and doctor, who would have performed an abortion. Doctors also face the prospect of losing their warrant. The amendments enacted in 2023 only introduced a very limited exception to allow an abortion to take place if a woman’s life is in grave danger and left the criminal consequences untouched.
Continued: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/editorial/136362/outrage_is_not_enough_decriminalise_abortion
Prime Minister Robert Abela was speaking on ONE Radio a few days after a woman was handed a 22-month prison sentence suspended for two years after having an abortion
2 August 2025
by Matthew Farrugia
Government is considering changes to the Professional Secrecy Act to ensure that doctors don’t report women seeking post-abortion medical care without their explicit consent.
Abela was speaking on ONE Radio a few days after a woman was handed a 22-month prison sentence suspended for two years after having an abortion.
August 2, 2025
Aqra bil- Malti
The Prime Minister and Leader of the Partit Laburista Robert Abela said the Government is in no way trying to amend the law which prohibits abortion but it thinking of an amendment where professional secrecy will reign so that a doctor may be able to report a woman has taken pills for abortion but only if she agrees.
Interviewed on ONE, the PM spoke on the planning law and said ahead this means consultation together with non-Government NGOs and a work group will be created for consultation.
Prime Minister Robert Abela said that today a doctor has a choice of reporting or not that a woman had had an abortion and it is being proposed this will only happen if the woman agrees a report be made.
In stark contrast, the Diluted Amendment limits the scope of who may access the necessary treatment, since it requires that the life or health of the patient must be ‘in grave jeopardy which may lead to death’
Neil Muscat
14 October 2023
In the past months, Malta has witnessed the diluted version of Bill 28 (the ‘Diluted Amendment’) (Act XXII of 2023) signed into law by the President.
Prime Minister Robert Abela had touted the former Criminal Code amendment (the ‘Original Amendment’) as a way to protect women's lives and health, saying these principles were ‘non-negotiable'.
Labour insiders say abortion bill was badly handled 'from beginning to end'
July 2, 2023
Daniel Ellul, Mark Laurence Zammit
Several Labour MPs have expressed concern after the government backed down and amended the so-called 'abortion bill' even though they voted in its favour on Wednesday.
Bill 28 was unanimously approved in parliament, with no one calling a division (individual counting of votes).
The prime minister described the vote as a 'historic day', but several MPs in Labour's liberal wing are far less excited.
While fully recognising the government’s attempt to bring some sanity to Malta’s strict anti-abortion law, we urge the Prime Minister to move beyond discomfort. Politicians cannot be ‘uncomfortably numb’ to the pain, fear and stigmatisation Maltese women must endure because abortion remains a criminal act
11 June 2023
Robert Abela is arguably the first Maltese Prime Minister to openly speak about the realities of abortion from the woman’s perspective, and to push for a change in legislation.
Meek though government’s attempt may be, to decriminalise abortion in two very limited circumstances – if a woman’s life is in danger, or her health is in grave jeopardy – it has to be recognised for what it is; a bold attempt to change Malta’s draconian anti-abortion law.
Continued: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/editorial/123367/abortion_uncomfortably_numb
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.
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.
Voice for Choice says Bill 28 that decriminalises abortion if a woman’s life or health is at risk should pass as is, warning that any other legal obligations placed on doctors will be of no clinical benefit to the patient
16 January 2023
by Kurt Sansone
Suggested changes to the Bill decriminalising abortion if a woman’s life or health is in danger risk putting up barriers to treatment, a pro-choice coalition has warned.
Voice for Choice said it was concerned over the changes being suggested to Bill 28 by the government in the face of public backlash.
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