CoE committee recommends decriminalisation of abortion in Malta

A Council of Europe (CoE) committee has approved a resolution calling on member states to decriminalise abortion, if they have not done so already.

The resolution by the Committee for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), which will now be discussed and voted upon during the next plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly to be held in Strasbourg on April 16, refers directly to Malta, one of the few CoE member countries where abortion is still illegal.

Malta has been a member of the CoE since 1964; however, as Parliament is currently dissolved, none of Malta's MPs was in a position to defend the country's stance in Strasbourg during the committee's deliberations on March 11.

The committee's report, penned by Austrian Socialist rapporteur Gisela Wurm, and approved by 21 votes in favour, three against and one abstention, calls upon all the 47 member states of the CoE to 'decriminalise abortion, if they have not already done so; guarantee women's effective exercise of their right to abortion and allow women freedom of choice and offer the conditions of a free and enlightened choice'.

According to the resolution's rapporteur, "abortion on request is, in theory, available in all Council of Europe member states, except Andorra, Malta, Ireland and Poland but even in member states where abortion is legal, conditions are not always such as to guarantee women effective access to this right".

Ms Wurm's resolution cites the lack of local health care facilities, the lack of doctors willing to carry out abortions, the repeated medical consultations required, the time allowed for changing one's mind and the waiting time for the abortion, as all potential problems currently making access to abortion more difficult, or even impossible in practice.

The Austrian MP said that women must be allowed freedom of choice and offered the conditions of a free and enlightened choice.

Nevertheless, the report states that abortion can in no circumstances be regarded as a family planning method and must be avoided as far as possible.

"It is therefore necessary to ensure access to contraception at a reasonable cost and to introduce compulsory sex education for young people in schools," Ms Wurm said.

Sources close to the CoE's parliamentary assembly told The Sunday Times that this is the first council report on abortion and the fact that Malta is currently not participating in its committees and plenary sessions may have been one of the reasons for the resolution to be adopted without any amendments.

Malta has always vehemently opposed any imposition of abortion on its territory in all international forums including the CoE, the UN and the European Union. The Council is a completely separate entity to the EU.

During its negotiations for EU accession, Malta also insisted on a special protocol inserted in the Treaty of Accession to make sure that abortion remains illegal.

CoE sources told this newspaper that the assembly's resolution will still have no legal bearing on Malta even if it is eventually adopted by the assembly.

"The CoE resolutions have no binding legal effect on its member states and Malta is in no danger of having to adopt this resolution and introduce abortion. This is a matter for Malta and its sovereign people to decide."

Founded in 1949, the Council seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals. It currently has 47 member countries and five observers including the Holy See.