I never knew that we Maltese are so awful! At least this is what the International Commission of Jurists wants the world to think about us following their allegation that Maltese women are at risk of torture!
A critical comment recently made by Bishop Mario Grech regarding the position taken by this Commission in the United Nations made me Google for more information about the subject. The legal eagles told all and one that Malta’s blanket defence of the right to life of the most vulnerable, that is the human embryo, puts women at risk of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
They said that the prohibition of abortion without medical exceptions meant Malta was also failing to ensure women’s right to life and that the highest attainable standard of health were not being met. The ICJ laments that in Malta there is no recourse to what they term as ‘safe abortion’.
Let us take the issue piece by piece.
Was there anything amiss for the Bishop of Gozo to criticise the position of this Commission? Is there any position which is beyond criticism? Any why were the words of Bishop Grech spinned in such a way as to make him seem not to care about women who face such difficult situations? Bishop Grech simply stated the Church’s position that all humans have the same dignity and the same right for life. One should not directly and intentionally sacrifice any one’s life – mother or child - for the benefit of anyone else. In difficult situations the medical professional is obliged to use best practices to save all that could be saved. The principle of double effect states that the best practice can be performed even if it can have a negative but unintended effect upon another.
[ In parenthesis one can argue whether women who commit abortion in extreme cases should face or not criminal actions against them. There is a very good case to make in favour of not prosecuting further women who would have suffered such a grave trauma.]
The Sunday Times of Malta put this into perspective. Between 2002 and 2011 – nine full years – there were only two cases of maternal deaths in Malta. (The paper does not mention the cause of this death.) Does this scenario justify – even remotely – the position of the ICJ that Maltese women are “at risk of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” or that they are not benefitting from the highest attainable standards of health? Besides, is not the term ‘safe abortion’ a contradiction in terms? Doesn’t abortion always result in the death of a human being in the making?
Doesn’t abortion always result in the death of one of us?
A propos of the rights of the embryo allow me to invite you to support the initiative called “One of Us.” This initiative of a number of citizens of the EU is appealing to the European Commission to greatly advance the protection of human life from conception in Europe – within the possibilities of the competency of the EU. Based on the definition of the human embryo as the beginning of the development of the human being, which was given in a recent ECJ judgment (Brüstle vs. Greenpeace), “One of Us” asks the EU to end the financing of activities which presuppose the destruction of human embryos, in particular in the areas of research, development aid and public health.
This initiative has to be backed by at least one million EU citizens. Up to the point of writing, just over five hundred thousand persons have signed the petition. There is need for 4,500 signatures from Malta. Only 1172 have signed.
Please visit http://www.oneofus.eu/ and sign the petition. It will take you just two minutes to do so.