It was reported that Nils Muižnieks was ‘taken aback’ by what he considers lack of debate about abortion in Malta.

We can reassure him that, in Malta, we do not need prodding from him or anyone else on the freedom to debate any issue under the sun.

Yet, as a human rights commissioner, we expect him to know that the most fundamental ‘human right’ is the right to life. Without it, there can be no other rights.

Sadly, for some people, life in utero can be a nuisance and an inconvenience.

If we are debating the rightto kill, why should we restrict the debate to abortion, to terminating the life of the innocent? With such flawed reasoning, we could just as well expand the debate to eliminate all those other members of society we may also consider a threat to our immediate interests.

Killing was made unlawful precisely because there are so many people whom it would seem quite natural, and almost necessary, to get rid of.

Muižnieks’s stance does not fool anyone. On the contrary, it is that he, as a human rights commissioner, has taken it upon himself to promote abortion. That makes many of us feel ‘taken aback’.

Instead of peddling abortion, we expect him to stick to his brief and instead uphold authentic human rights.