Abortion in Malta
Encyclopedia
Abortion
in Malta
is illegal.
The Criminal Code states: “(1) Whosoever, by any food, drink, medicine, or by violence, or by any other means whatsoever, shall cause the miscarriage of any woman with child, whether the woman be consenting or not, shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term from 18 months to three years;” and “(2) The same punishment shall be awarded against any woman who shall procure her own miscarriage, or who shall have consented to the use of the means by which the miscarriage is procured.”
In the extremely rare situations that a mother's life is actually threatened by the emergence of a pregnancy, abortive procedures have been performed within Maltese territory with no repercussions. For example, in the case of Amanda Cremona-Psaila, the police department were notified by officials at Mater Dei Hospital that a gynecologist and university professor had performed a chemical abortion to prevent the mother suffering a cancer relapse, which the hormonal changes common to a pregnancy were sure to cause. No action was taken on behalf of the police department, which retain the jurisdiction to press charges for criminal offences as they see fit.
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
is illegal.
The Criminal Code states: “(1) Whosoever, by any food, drink, medicine, or by violence, or by any other means whatsoever, shall cause the miscarriage of any woman with child, whether the woman be consenting or not, shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term from 18 months to three years;” and “(2) The same punishment shall be awarded against any woman who shall procure her own miscarriage, or who shall have consented to the use of the means by which the miscarriage is procured.”
In the extremely rare situations that a mother's life is actually threatened by the emergence of a pregnancy, abortive procedures have been performed within Maltese territory with no repercussions. For example, in the case of Amanda Cremona-Psaila, the police department were notified by officials at Mater Dei Hospital that a gynecologist and university professor had performed a chemical abortion to prevent the mother suffering a cancer relapse, which the hormonal changes common to a pregnancy were sure to cause. No action was taken on behalf of the police department, which retain the jurisdiction to press charges for criminal offences as they see fit.