Academic Clare Vassallo has disassociated herself from the National Council of Women, which has taken a strong stand against the legalisation of the morning-after pill.
Clare Vassallo“I have just resigned from the NCW. I have no desire to be associated with a group that prefers to back heavily conservative anti-women institutions," she said in a post on the Facebook page Women for Women.
“The MAP is an extension of contraception - and saves people from having to deal with unexpected pregnancy. Over 50 years since these debates were held for the contraceptive pill, only in Malta could we be making them all over again. Shame on you.”
She later wrote: "I'm sure the next young girl to get raped this summer would be pleased that she didn't have to get pregnant as well - because if readily available, as it should be, no pregnancy will occur."
Her comments were applauded by several who thanked Prof. Vassallo, a former chairperson of PBS, for publicly standing up to be counted.
Over 50 years since these debates were held for the contraceptive pill, only in Malta could we be making them all over again. Shame on you
One social media user noted: “They are not the national council for women, they are the national council of some women. They do not speak in my name.”
Prof. Vassallo’s comments come after the NCW said women are being misled into assuming they have rights over the life of the weakest human beings.
NCW’s comments are the latest in an ongoing debate about the introduction of the morning-after pill, following a judicial protest against the State filed by the Women’s Rights Foundation and backed by 102 women.
Subsequent feedback from pharmacists approached by this newspaper indicated that requests for the morning-after pill – which works either by stopping the ovary from releasing an egg or by causing thinning of the lining of the womb, in turn preventing implantation – are especially common in the central areas, especially from foreigners.
The NCW is insisting it has always taken a pro-life position from conception until death, particularly with the aim of safeguarding the life of the unborn child.
“A new human life begins at conception. We object to the morning-after pill on the grounds that it is an established potential abortifacient – that is, it can cause abortion. The reality is that the occurrence, or otherwise, of implantation does not define the existence or otherwise of a living human being.”
It went without saying that women had rights over their bodies, but this did not give them the right of life or death over another human being, the council added.
“It is often suggested that wealthy people circumvent the law by seeking services abroad that are not provided here and in so doing, the situation leads to discrimination against less financially privileged people.
“This is absolutely misleading. When something is wrong, it is wrong anywhere and the fact that it is possible to avoid legal consequences does not make it right. You may as well argue that wealthy people can afford an expensive professional assassin to carry out their killings for them while others, less wealthy, have to run the risk of carrying out the job themselves.”
The council questioned how people could fail to acknowledge the right to life of the “weakest” human beings.
“How did we arrive at a state where we randomly arrogate to ourselves the exclusive right over the life of so many others? It is a disgrace that women are misled in this most shameful scenario, into violating the most essential aspect of their very womanhood – and further accommodate commercial interests of larger corporate entities.”
The NCW condemned any measures, especially legal, that made a mockery of human rights by violating those of the weakest.
On Tuesday, Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli said she agreed with the introduction of the morning after pill as “a form of contraception”.
Her statement followed that of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality which noted that the lack of access to the pill bred issues of discrimination.