On Friday 21 May, a letter signed by 64 MEPs was sent to the Maltese authorities on the initiative of All of Us - the European Parliament’s pro-choice campaign, calling on them to legalise abortion.
Malta is the only country in the EU where abortion is still banned without exception, and it is punishable by 18 months to three years in prison, according to Amnesty International.
However, on 12 May last year, a member of the national parliament tabled a bill calling for its decriminalisation. The MEPs said in their letter that this is “a historic opportunity to promote the debate on abortion in Malta”.
They recall that sexual and reproductive health and rights are “essential healthcare and a fundamental right” and that unimpeded and timely access to such care and respect for women’s reproductive autonomy and decision-making are “critical in protecting women’s human rights and gender equality”.
Currently, Malta’s ban leads to hundreds of women trying to have illegal abortions every year, say MEPs.
An own-initiative report denouncing obstacles to sexual and reproductive rights in the EU (see EUROPE 12715/19) should be voted on by the plenary in June. In fact, MEPs’ concerns on this issue go beyond the situation in Malta.
Read the letter: https://bit.ly/3bF30h1 (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)