Thousands of protestors gathered in Valletta, Malta, on Sunday, December 4, to protest proposed changes to that nation’s abortion law. Organizers said they believed about 20,000 people attended. According to the Times of Malta, the crowd carried pink and white signs reading “Keep abortion out of Malta,” “Protect our children,” and “I don’t have a voice.” They also chanted, “No to abortion, yes to life” as they marched from Castille, the office of the Prime Minister, toward the law courts.
Former center-left president Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca led the protest, and marched alongside other protestors behind a banner reading, “The government amendment will introduce abortion.” Catholic Archbishop Charles Scicluna was in attendance, along with the leader of the evangelical group River of Love, Gordon Manche. Nationalist Party opposition leader Bernard Grech and former opposition leader Adrian Delia also attended.
Speakers included former president Coleiro Preca, who told the crowd: “The lack of clarity in this amendment concerns me and many others. It is not putting our mind at rest that abortion will not enter our country.” She said the issue merits serious discussion, and cuts across religious and political divisions. She urged the media to be “ethical” when reporting on this issue, and to reflect “the rights of the mother and the child that is without a voice.”
Retired judge Giovanni Bonello also spoke via video call, saying the proposed amendment was unnecessary and would open the door to abortion on demand. “No nurse, no doctor, or woman was taken to court because the pregnancy was terminated to safeguard the mothers life,” Bonello said.
Maria Formosa of the I See Life Group said they were there to speak for the preborn. “With an abortion you always lose a life,” she said. “We know there are women who suffer from many problems, health and social problems, but abortion is not the answer. The answer is to provide the right support.”
Protest organizer and Life Network Foundation leader Miriam Sciberras was last to speak. “Nights away from Christmas, this amendment has come up, to kill a baby, without any form of discussion,” she said. “This is not a door or window to abortion, but a runway to abortion. We safeguard so many minorities, so many laws to protect animals, the environment, laws protect turtle eggs – but we don’t support the life in a womb?”
Sciberras also announced that the Life Network Foundation will hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, December 7 at 6pm in front of Parliament.
