(Adds Sharon Ellul Bonici's reaction)
The pro-life group Gift of Life (GOL) has expressed alarm over comments which it said were made by Labour EP candidate Sharon Ellul Bonici on an open Facebook group. The group has also had talks with Labour leader Joseph Muscat about the matter.
But Mrs Ellul Bonici said when contacted she would not succumb to threats or blackmail by GOL or any other organisation.
GOL said that among references against the proposed Constitutional amendment to ban abortion, Mrs Ellul Bonici wrote: “The state should not constrain a woman from terminating her pregnancy, let alone entrench it in our constitution. The situation in Malta is not tragic only because abortion is available elsewhere in Europe. Had this not been so, we would have faced a tragedy, with underground abortions and their consequences."
In response to repeated requests for clarification by Gift of Life, Mrs Ellul Bonici in an email said: “my joining this group was meant to join a debate with the intention to impart information, mostly EU related. My personal opinion was directed by the principle that the state should as far as possible not interfere in people’s lives. On the other hand, I am also concerned about backstreet abortions, since when one decides to terminate a pregnancy one always finds a way, irrespective of the law. Personally, I have three children and at no time did it ever pass my mind to terminate my pregnancy I would also advise against abortion at any stage. I would like to assure Gift of Life that as an MEP my position on abortion and other matters would be in accordance to Labour Party policy.”
Mr Paul Vincenti, who heads GOL, said that at a meeting with Joseph Muscat on March 17, Dr Muscat indicated that he was satisfied with Sharon Ellul Bonici's response to the concerns expressed, and said that the PL remained anti-abortion.
"In reaction, Gift of Life wish to emphasise that being personally against abortion yet at the same time defending the right to legal abortion is clearly not pro-life" Mr Vincenti said.
The Facebook group was set up in September 2008 to “give a voice to those who are pro-choice”. It was set up by people who not only do not agree with a proposed amendment to guarantee that the unborn child is given the right to life from conception, but to also give a voice to those who consider themselves to be pro-choice for abortion.
In her reaction, Mrs Ellul Bonici said she would not succumb to political threats and blackmail by Gift of Life or any other organisation.
"They bombarded me with calls and emails demanding that I retract my comment and declare myself in writing against abortion or face the consequences. Just like in the times of the Inquisition, they demanded that I sign a declaration that goes against my beliefs, or else... When I made it clear that I will not be a hypocrite, he proceeded with his blackmail and demanded with the PL leader to strike me off the party's candidates list. In their letter to the PL they did not even have the decency to cut and paste my whole comment"
Mrs Ellul Bonici said: "What I wrote last September on Facebook is clear enough. It is my personal opinion and I will stick to it. It is not the PL official line and I am not campaigning for abortion to be introduced, although Mr Vincenti is successfully pushing me in that direction"
She said that her point was that introducing an anti-abortion clause in the Maltese constitution made little sense given the circumstances.
"The fact is that the Lisbon treaty would make it possible for abortion to be introduced in Malta. This information should be of interest to both pro-lifers and pro-choicers, and my personal opinion is highly irrelevant.
"The fact is that, for better or for worse, annexed to the Lisbon treaty is the Charter of Fundamental Rights. This Charter is not very different from the European Convention on Human Rights, but there is one very technical and political difference: the Charter falls under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (the EU Court in Luxembourg) and not the human rights court in Strasbourg, which pertains to the Council of Europe, of which even Russia and Ukraine are members."
Mrs Ellul Bonici said that currently, the ECJ had jurisdiction only at the 'federal' EU level - in matters relating to Community law, applicable mainly to the internal market. With the Charter annexed to the Lisbon treaty, the ECJ would gain full jurisdiction over the rights of all European citizens. Irish guarantees or not, if the ECJ was eventually asked to decide over a case relating to abortion it might choose to rule that abortion was a universal European right applicable to all European citizens.
"That ruling would override national laws and constitutions, including GoL's amended Maltese Constitution should they succeed," she insisted.