New law would decriminalise abortion in some cases, PD warns

The Democratic Party has warned that a Bill currently before parliament could decriminalise abortions in Malta if there is the prior and informed consent of the woman involved.

The party was commenting on the Gender-based Violence and Domestic Violence Bill, which will see Malta adopting the Council of Europe Convention on prevention and combating violence against women.

Its article 39 on forced abortion and forced sterilisation, the convention says that: "Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following intentional conducts are criminalised:

(a) performing an abortion on a woman without her prior and informed consent;

(b) performing surgery which has the purpose or effect of terminating a woman’s capacity to naturally reproduce without her prior and informed consent or understanding of the procedure.

The party explained that in terms of Malta's criminal code, performing an abortion on a woman was an offence both if it is without "her prior and informed consent" and even if it is done with her consent.

The article in the new Bill however, led to the understanding that legislative measures to ensure that abortion was criminalised would...