In Malta, the promotion of abortion as a woman’s right is now being peddled with an increasing crescendo. This should not be surprising. Now that Ireland has legalised abortion, Malta is the last country in the European Union that safeguards nascent life.
We are being repeatedly reminded that abortion should not be a taboo topic for debate. In a society that gives lip service to the concept of freedom and freedom of expression, it is an approach that cannot be contested.
As a representative of Life Network Malta, I can assure you that pro-life advocates welcome debate, so long as the purpose of debate is to seek the truth of what is at stake.
One hopes that we all agree with the hallowed maxim ‘The Truth will set you free’. Yet, we must make a clear distinction between an honest attempt to seek the truth of an issue and an organised campaign to present evil as a choice to be considered.
Here in Malta, we have already had the disgraceful situation where the abortifacient Morning After Pill was legalised on the false assumption that it is only a contraceptive.
We all remember distinctly the farce of a so-called public debate that preceded its introduction. This false claim is being challenged in court.
With regard to abortion, we want to ensure that public opinion is not hoodwinked in a similar fashion.
It is beyond debate that unless impeded, humans develop in stages from conception to adulthood. At all stages, the right to life is present
It is beyond debate that unless impeded, humans develop in stages from conception to adulthood. At all stages, the right to life is present. The value of life is literally incalculable: we cannot calculate it.
Promoting the killing of nascent life to attain a good end is not just contrary to natural law, it violates the morality Christianity has taught from its beginning.
In the West, over the past half century, the coarsening of conscience with respect to procreation and unborn human life has been astounding. It has abandoned the 1959 United Nations General Assembly declaration stating that “the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth”.
The underhand strategies employed in the Irish referendum should serve as a warning. It is a fact that in Ireland, powerful overseas interests played a role in funding the pro-abortion lobby. But there were other factors at play.
One of the most dishonest claims by the pro-abortion activists was the claim that the 8th Amendment in Irish law placed pregnant women’s lives at risk.
The tragic death of Savita Halappanavar was dishonestly exploited under the false premise that her life was sacrificed as medical intervention to save her life would have killed her foetus.
In Malta, there are those who are brazen enough to peddle the blatant lie that pregnant women are denied treatment if it places the child’s life at risk. With modern medicine, such cases are very rare indeed and the decision to opt for treatment rests with the mother.
Another attempt at justifying abortion is the case of women who are victims of rape. The pro-abortion strategy is always the same. Very rare cases are used to break down the law and our culture that defends life from conception.
The evil action of rape is then compounded by the evil of eliminating innocent life. To sensitise public opinion to this false contention, Jennifer Christie and her husband are being invited to Malta. Jennifer was brutally assaulted, raped and almost killed. Following the rape she was expecting a child and both friends and medical people advised abortion as a solution to her dramatic situation.
Jennifer chose life and insisted that an innocent child should not be sacrificed. On the contrary, she upholds, that if anyone should be punished, it should be the rapist. Life Network Malta will be holding its annual march on Sunday where Jennifer and her husband will give their stirring pro-life testimonies. We invite people of good will who cherish life to join us.
Klaus Vella Bardon is deputy chairman of Life Network Foundation Malta.
This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece