Doctors should be free to act as “conscientious objectors” when deciding on whether to prescribe the morning-after pill, the Medical Council told Parliament’s health, social affairs and family affairs committees.

Communicating their views to the committees, council members expressed concerns on the ethical, health and social aspects of having the emergency contraceptive available in Malta.

The committees held a joint meeting to discuss the introduction of the pill after a debate on the matter was sparked by a group of women who, in a judicial protest against the State in June, asked for it to be legalised.

The protest, filed by the Women’s Rights Foundation, was signed by 102 women, aged between 16 and 62.

The move sparked controversy, with those in favour of making the pill available arguing that it would be a breach of women’s rights if they did not have access to it.

On the other hand, those against argued that the pill could be abortifacient and should not be licensed.

Speaking during the meeting, member Doreen Cassar said the Medical Council’s stand was clear and it wanted to call for “a better structure to protect both patient and doctor”.

“If this is made available, our position is clear. The council will honour Maltese law, but if doctors do not feel comfortable prescribing the pill, they should be protected. That’s our position,” Dr Cassar said.

The council also argued that doctors should be well aware of their patients’ medical background, including their sexual-health history, in order to make an informed decision before prescribing the pill.

The pill, the council members argued, should only be prescribed by doctors and not be made available over the counter.

In their presentation, the council members insisted on the importance of doctors being provided with factual information by patients. This prompted Opposition MP Paula Mifsud Bonnici to ask how doctors could be sure the information given to them was, in fact, correct.

Dr Cassar said that trust between a patient and her doctor should always be present, irrespective of the situation, but she insisted that the council always pushed for doctors to document their patients’ histories.

The next Committee meeting will be held on October 5 before a report containing recommendations is tabled in Parliament on October 10.