'Nine in 10 against abortion'

A survey has confirmed that Malta maintains a very strong pro-life culture, Gift of Life said yesterday.

Of 500 respondents interviewed by phone, 91.5 per cent said they disagreed with abortion while 5.2 per cent said they agreed in some cases and 2.6 per cent were in favour.

Meanwhile, 88.7 per cent think human life begins at conception, 3.4 per cent at implantation and 3.2 per cent at birth.

The great majority, 84.5 per cent, are also against the legalisation of abortion, while 13.5 per cent are in favour. Another two per cent said they were not sure.

Moreover, 82.7 per cent agreed the Constitution should be amended to make legalising abortion harder but not impossible.

Those who said abortion should be legalised were asked further questions to determine why. The reasons included when the mother's life is in danger, when the child is conceived from rape and when the child is deformed.