This is truly the age of wimp-political leadership as both major political leaders keep taking positions by convenience rather than literally doing their job and taking a leadership position on issues. On one hand, we have had a Prime Minister who was incapable of taking a position when a woman’s life was in danger and the Health Minister had to intervene unilaterally to announce a legal reform that would allow the termination of pregnancy in case the woman’s health is under serious threat. On the other hand, we have the leader of the Nationalist Party who has pandered to the hardcore conservative section of its supporters by indulging in misogynistic discourse and waging a crusade against the new legal amendments.
Let’s keep in mind that this controversy on abortion is much ado about nothing because the legal reform will only and simply decriminalise the termination of pregnancy in case there is a serious threat to the mother’s health. And note, that the law emphasises on “serious threat€ and not just any health issue, and I’m also sure many Maltese doctors will be very patronisingly prohibitive to abortion access with this legal wording.
Another thing to keep in mind is that abortions at the National Health Hospital in Malta did take place in several cases when the mother’s life was at risk, albeit and theoretically, potentially illegally. The case of Andrea Prudente had created enough public contrition to finally amend the law according to basic and universal medical principles.
For one to understand why the Nationalist leadership is behaving this way, one has to understand the backdrop of their conservative faction. If the Nationalist politicians had any moral fortitude which matches their crusading spirit over their illogical interpretation of “life”, I would assume that they would have shown the same amount of indignation at the murder of Bernice Cassar. But, of course, they won’t. The hypocrisy is excruciating.
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