Abortion in Malta is illegal in all cases,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world. Malta is the only country in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

to prohibit abortion entirely and one of the two European countries to prohibit it with

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

. Treatment for an

ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these symptom ...

is allowed with a case-by-case decision.

Criminal code

The Criminal Code states: "(1) Whosoever, by any food, drink, medicine, or by violence, or by any other means whatsoever, shall cause the

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemica ...

of any woman with child, whether the woman be consenting or not, shall, on conviction, be liable to

imprisonment Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is " false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessar ...

for a term from 18 months to three years"; and "(2) The same punishment shall be awarded against any woman who shall procure her own miscarriage, or who shall have consented to the use of the means by which the miscarriage is procured." In 2005,

Tonio Borg Tonio Borg (born 12 May 1957) is a conservative Maltese politician who served as the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy replacing John Dalli as member of the College of the European Commission in the second Barroso Commission. ...

, a Maltese politician, sought to amend the constitution to completely ban abortion.

Statistics

It is estimated that anywhere between 300 and 400 Maltese women travel abroad to have abortions each year, mostly to the UK (about 60 per year) and Italy, with Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium being some of the other destinations as well. This estimate means that Maltese women have abortions about as often as the EU average, despite Malta being the only EU country which bans the procedure (the rate for Malta is between 3.6 and 4.7 per thousand women; the EU average is 4.4).

Decriminalization proposals

On 12 May 2021, Maltese independent MP

Marlene Farrugia Marlene Farrugia (born 24 July 1966) is a Maltese former Member of Parliament and former leader of the Democratic Party. Previously she had been a member of the Nationalist Party, with whom she contested the General Elections in 1996 and 1998, ...

made the country's first ever legislative proposal to decriminalize abortion, arguing "We all know that safeguarding women’s rights does not come through the threat of putting them in prison". Farrugia's proposal would strike out three articles in Malta's criminal code and replace them by a law punishing

forced abortion A forced abortion may occur when the perpetrator causes abortion by force, threat or coercion, or by taking advantage of a situation where a pregnant individual is unable to give consent, or when valid consent is in question due to duress. This ma ...

with ten years imprisonment. On 21 November 2022, prime minister

Robert Abela Robert Abela (born 7 December 1977) is a Maltese lawyer and politician who has served as prime minister of Malta and leader of Labour Party since 2020. The son of former President George Abela, he was elected to Parliament in 2017. Abela was ...

presented a bill, which would allow women to have an abortion if the pregnancy endangers their lives. However, cases of rape, incest, and others, abortion would remain illegal. Moreover, opposition leader Bernard Grech stated that this bill was means for the Labour Party to introduce abortion in Malta, and insisted that the Nationalist Party would remain opposed to it.

References

Law of Malta Health in Malta

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