The government was pro-life from the moment of inception and against the sanctioning of abortion in this country, Sustainability Minister Jose Herrera said on Friday, but added that he did not believe this should be enshrined in the constitution.
Speaking at a conference organised by the Malta Unborn Child Movement, Dr Herrera said at there were three principles involved: morality, religiosity and ethics.
However, when taking political decisions, he explained that the government must shy away as much as possible from moral and religious issues.
"Moral concepts are in essence man-made and may vary in different periods. Similarly, religious beliefs are personal and while they should be respected, they should not be the driving force in legislation. On the other hand, ethics should help lay governments in deciding certain issues.
“For me personally and for the government, abortion is being considered as ethically unacceptable,” Dr Herrera said.
It was for this reason that he did not agree in principle that the issue of abortion should be enshrined in the constitution since this emanates from the ethical attitude of a people at a given time.
"The State therefore has no authority to perpetuate its ethical beliefs on generations to come," he said while reassuring that the right to life of the unborn child was duly protected at law, and government had no intention of minimising this protection.
The Criminal Code also provides safeguards against abortion, he said: "This is regarded as a criminal offence and provides for a reasonable correspective penalty, albeit not at the level of the crime of voluntary homicide.
"The reason behind this is that the legislator has long appreciated the vulnerability of women who find themselves constrained to take such drastic action and therefore deserve to be treated compassionately. Our courts too have applied the law from a compassionate point of view, examining every case in its particular circumstance."
Dr Herrera stated that the unborn child is also afforded civil recognition, like for example when the courts are empowered to nominate a curator to protect the interests of the unborn child.