Gozo Bishop Mario Grech. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

A seriously ill pregnant woman is ethically justified in taking medication that “indirectly” puts her baby’s life at risk, according to Gozo Bishop Mario Grech.

Any such decision was “ethically permitted” if every effort was made to try and save the life of mother and child, he added.

But Mgr Grech said it was “never acceptable” to abort a baby to save the life of its mother.

“Abortion is killing. Whoever intentionally undergoes an abortion has grave moral responsibility,” he said.

Mgr Grech touched on the subject of abortion in a homily during a Mass dedicated to women, organised by the Catholic Action in Victoria.

He welcomed the Catholic Action’s decision to uphold the virtues of St Ġanna Berretta Molla, a doctor who died after choosing to save her unborn daughter.

Human beings, whether aged or still a foetus, have a right to live

Mgr Grech criticised the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ),a human rights group, which has recommended the decriminalisation of abortion.

The ICJ, composed of 60 international judges and lawyers, told the UN two months ago that the prohibition of abortion without medical exceptions in Malta failed to ensure that women’s right to life and the highest attainable standard of health were met.

Mgr Grech said arguments like those put forward by the ICJ focused on women’s “pseudo rights” and ignored the human right to exist from the moment of conception.

“Human beings, whether aged or still a foetus, have a right to live,” he said, adding that society had a duty to protect the weakest.

Malta is the only EU country that bans the termination of pregnancies in all circumstances, even when the woman’s life is in danger.

The main political parties have consistently supported the ban and public opposition to the law is muted, something that was noted positively by Mgr Grech.

“I feel I have to show gratitude to the two big political parties that are in favour of human life and so against abortion,” he said, showing admiration for public functionaries who were sometimes sidelined in international forums when they defended life from conception.

Mgr Grech also spoke of his admiration for most doctors, who did everything to try and save lives.

Without naming him, Mgr Grech said he knew of a doctor who explained the cruelty of killing a baby whenever he had abortion requests.

“I appeal to our sensible women to be at the forefront speaking in favour of the unborn child’s right to life,” he said.

Mgr Grech urged Catholics to sign a Europe-wide petition that will be presented to the European Parliament in favour of laws that protect the embryo.

The door to abortion should not be opened, he warned, because if this happened it would cause “irreparable damage” to society.