'Majority of students oppose abortion'

Steve Pace

Oct 17th 2009, 16:31

@ All those who criticized the results and methodology of this survey...

Strange how none of you said that the 78.7 % result of those who are against abortion, is also silly and should not be taken into consideration ! How come, is it because the tune of such result is a sweeter tune to your ears ?

@ Mr Meli - I wonder if words like quote .. "it seems that these teenagers’ parents had themselves also. neglected this. duties or teaching to their children, so no wonder we have this results." - are also addressed to this section of the survey .

Steve Pace

Oct 17th 2009, 16:23

@Neville Calleja - "research methods modules to have an even more representative survey the next time round." - I am not quite sure what results you are expecting . Is it maybe that you are hoping that next time round there will be an overwhelming response against divorce and condoms ? If yes, then sweet dreams !

Steve Pace

Oct 17th 2009, 16:18

@Mr.Meli. - Quoting what a survey of 2004 with the underlying hope to justify what has happened in 2009 is simply illusionary. When Malta wanted to Join EU the first surveys indicated a majority against until finally it went down to a minority. Going back in time is only trying to retreat in your comfort zone. Reading comments like

"Raymond Zammit said just because the majority of students agreed with something did not mean they were right. If the majority were in favour of heroin it did not mean they were right." is simply sour grapes.

Many people have been hammering on the church trying to show , that attacking is not going to give the results aimed for, namely to convince people to see your point of view but is simply slamming the door in the face of reality and pushing people away from church and from even trying to see your point of view.

This is what this survey really shows. It shows yet another failure on part of the church to deliver its message. The church and any of its fundamentalist follower may want to remain with their head in the sand. So be it.

moses mula

Oct 16th 2009, 22:22

@MBorg,you are accusing me of going with the crowd? My friend let me remind you that I lived in Malta until I was 25, with over 95% of the population being catholics, so hardly a crowd which is in favour of abortion,morning pill, divorce, gay rights and marriage and gender equality. Yet I am in favour of all of the above so it does not seem that I went with the crowd but rather against the flow. And this I did a long time before I moved to Sweden or started my University studies. Guess wwho went with the crowd. I am not going to criticize you for that, as what you believe in is your Buisness. But what I believe in is mine as well and not what a book or a religion tells me. To be able to think for yourself, now that is strong. University is not only there for people to attend programmes, but as an encouragement to think for yourself and build your own opinions and character. Condom machines hardly turn a place into a brothel. Good luck to you for believing in what you believe, but do not step on othe peoples rights.

Joseph Meli

Oct 16th 2009, 12:55

[Continuation No: 2] This survey of 2004 gave an overall picture of the University Students are in conformity with the Church's teaching on matters of “faith” and “morals.” But the latest survey by MOVE, although held not on the same style with little information available..as the..other, however, the latest survey had reveiled, although most of the questions are totally different, yet one can see tht there is something wrong with the upbringing of these students..and that their Christian doctrine of faith and..moral education is..absent.But who is to blame?
The duties of most parents we all know that this cannot be reduced solely to the procreation of children but this should have been..extended to moral education and spiritual formation..[see book of catechism..of the..catholic church No. 2221/2222/2223] Then we found many..teens that they concentrated..on sports, dancing, singing, competitions of these or..attending for..such lessons, but left no space..for the teaching of religion to their children at least when at home. Been..invited for lunch with many..who before they..start having their..meal, they forgot to say a small prayer, so what would one..expect. However, it seems..that these teenagers's parents had themselves also..neglected this..duties or teaching to their children, so no wonder we have this results.

Joseph Meli

Oct 16th 2009, 12:52

Good to note that the survey carried out in..2004 was held on person to person interviews through a questionnaire for a random sample of 417..students, 116..males and 251..females out of a university of Maltese students of 6129 on day courses. The margin of error for those that replied was that of 95% confidence level is 4.68%
Then the MOVE's survey was carried out on 400..Maltese students that had been randomly selected, but it resulted that those 57% who stated that where in favour of divorce in 2004, had now dropped to just 54.9%

The result for 2004 was given that 77.1% where considered as practising catholics, while 7.7% go to mass monthly, while 71.8% pray regularly, while 45.4% pray daily. Then it was only 0.9% that never received the Holy Communion. But 94.6% intend to contract some form of marriage while 90% said that they wish to..marry in Church. But then the 71% see nothing wrong with premarital sexual intercourse, especially when relation is steady leading to..marriage. But when it came on divorce we found tht 52% did not agree with the legislation of divorce in Malta, and 74.6% declared their faith in the Church as an institution..[continued]

GiovDeMartino

Oct 16th 2009, 08:21

Of course the majority are in favour of divorce! With so many young beauties, wonderfully provocotively (un) dressed, wicchom u denbhom xorta, with nbo sense of shame or modesty...of course the majority want divorce!

MBorg

Oct 15th 2009, 20:51

@ moses mula

You do not have to pity people who have strong beliefs, it is the other way round , We pity you , Remember it is very easy to go with the crowd, but it takes character to go against the flow.

University should be a place where you go to learn , not a place for sex. The condom machine has no place on compus , university should not be turned into a brothel.

If you are proud to let us know that you gained your hatred for the church and your ideas, which I am sure you think are very progressive, from university .something must be going very wrong somewhere.

It is high time that we ask for another survey . The government should rethink the stipends system. Our hard earned cash should not be handed out to students who go to university to have fun. Students who show that they are imature and who do not want to grow up.

Pity us ? We pity you. What empty lives.

Gerry Cowie

Oct 15th 2009, 20:18

The "progressives" are of great concern. They strive for personal freedom at all costs but seem to overlook the responsibilities and obligations which go with those freedoms. This is important since whatever we do will have a knock-on effect on other persons. Why are people writing blogs in Malti here? This is surely an English Language newspaper! How insulting to those of no religious belief that people should suggest that respect for human life from conception to natural death is something which only concerns religious people! It surely concerns every one of us. Let us not cheapen human life any further than it already has been!

moses mula

Oct 15th 2009, 19:27

@Doris Camilleri, while it is partly true that you do not need to have attended university to gain wisdom, you certainly gain more wisdom at university where the facts that you are being lectured to you tend to be truer than just blind faith and a book which is 2000 years old. While you pity people for wanting freedom I pity you who base your life on a book which practically is against any rights given to women. You are of course entitled to your opinion ( and you do not need to stay in silence in the presence of men, remember this from your scriptures) but if you are suggesting that people should base their lives on the bible and come to listen to katekezi so they will start living like sheep, then that is just sad. And do not start me on the bible`s biggest sponsors, the church.

Doris Camilleri

Oct 15th 2009, 18:23

Jiena nhoss li l-gherf tal bniedem ma jigix min kemm ikollok kwalifiki imma min kemm taf l-iskrittura (xi tghid il kelma t'Alla).Inhoss li dawn l-istudenti li jridu id divorzju, zwieg bejn persuni gay etc.ta min jithassarhom ghax ghalkemm ikwalifikaw biex jidhlu l-universita,ma jafux x,tghid il kelma t'Alla.Kieku zgur jahsbuha mod iehor.Jiena nistidinhom ghal Katakezi li ser jibdew f'certi parrocci fil granet li gejjin(Mosta ,Hamrun Immakulata Kuncizzjoni u Kalkara)fost ohrajn.U zgur li jircieva il veru gherf li hu hafna aqwa milli taghti id dinja.

Joseph Meli

Oct 15th 2009, 16:48

[Continuation - Two] This survey also gave us an insight of our students that they really lack any knowledge of what sort of evaluation they must do during..marriage; what sort of priorities they should have; what changes they could be dealing with when one finds the other involved in an unfaithfulness and it's dangers,' The bible does quotes us the meaning of..forgiveness in the letter of St. Paul to the..Corinthians, otherwise one must understand the major..causes for separations without taking time to sort things out first or to what is the effect with adultery and in negligence to any knowledge of our religion and what our catechism teaching says! This could come from lack of of prayers (if catholic) or..knowledge of our catechism teaching, or through mis-misbehaver at work or with desertion to go out with the other sex when married, or using cruelty treatment to wife or husband; taking part in crime; or alcoholism; or living apart or together prior marriage. These negligence or to give as such results of our students, offers a bad shadow on their parents who definitely failed to offer them the proper religious teaching (if they are catholics) of our..religion.

Joseph Meli

Oct 15th 2009, 16:28

If one investigated at the total of these..results, one might have an..opinion that this survey was not produced through a methodological system at all, if one..compare it with other survey held by Xarabank. First of all we don't know their age brackets of those taking part, yes, students but they can be classified into three age brackets. Yet, this gave us a clear indication that most of our..students, sadly to say, could mostly form within the ignorant section, on the purpose that they don't have any..knowledge what is love and marriage purpose, because they just know..nothing at all what one needs as to apply most of his time and spend some quality..time and money to grow their relationship with his future partner, or what our religion permits or does not permit. Even those that are not catholic, they might do have some rules to follow in marriage. So when one fails, one just blame probably..God or even become an..atheist with non-beliefs of what he was taught in his prime life; maybe change his..religion. But then God does not..saves relationships, but saves individuals, so if one wants a great relationship, one must pay the..price. [End of Part One]

neville Calleja

Oct 15th 2009, 16:10

I'm afraid that the quality of surveys carried out by over-enthusiastic interviewers harrassing people on the street has been extensively questioned for a long time in the scientific literature. Even so, I would not throw away the results of this survey, but they have to be handled with care. While the initiative is most certainly commendable, the students behind such a survey in MOVE are encouraged to apply the teaching they got in their research methods modules to have an even more representative survey the next time round.

Adrian Cardona

Oct 15th 2009, 15:50

@J Farrugia is-soltu moralizmu u fundamentalizmu imdejjaq. Calling an idiot anyone who doesn't share your beliefs is pathetic, arrogant and does not even merit a reply.

N.Calleja

Oct 15th 2009, 15:44

Are we talking of a survey at our University or was is done in a brothel in Solo?

Joe Azzopardi

Oct 15th 2009, 15:27

Theology lecturer Raymond Zammit said just because the majority of students agreed with something did not mean they were right. This may be so but in a democracy the opinion of the majority holds. It is when the opinion of that majority infringes on the legitimate individual liberties that the community should stand up against it. We are a democracy in 2009 after all.

J Farrugia

Oct 15th 2009, 14:58

@ james grech - yes I am a catholic and proud of it unlike you. No i dont believe these idiotic surveys they are a shame. and an insult to supposedly mature students.

James Grech

Oct 15th 2009, 12:35

@J Farrugia
While promoting your own belief and reassurance that the world as you want it to be is safe, you preclude other people's beliefs and call these people insane and as belonging to a cartel. This attitude, Mr Farrugia, shows many facets of arrogance, bullying etc. You most probably also state that you are a christian.

J Farrugia

Oct 15th 2009, 12:18

Surveys are a sham, they are not veritable. nothing to go by. I know there are idiots at the University but it is just a small fraction of the whole university community. And this small fraction is aided by some of the lecturers etc. So I really am going to sleep soundly knowing that the majority of the UM students are morally sane. remember today's university there are over 10,000 students. So what does this small fraction represent? In a cartel there are always some bad apples. let's just isolate them.

C.Sammut

Oct 15th 2009, 11:06

Mr Caruana you cannot legalise a murder in the hope you can avoid it before it happens. You can however prevent very early, the pregnancy, which is different.

George Caruana

Oct 15th 2009, 10:10

It is important to distinguish between the act of abortion, which is a tragedy, and the legal perspective. What is gained by having abortion illegal? What are the benefits? Who would refrain from terminating a pregnancy simply because it is illegal? On the other hand, would the chances of saving the foetus be better if the community had access to these people?
This is the most important political debate, and not whether abortion can ever be justified!