Petition to: The Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives
Malta...Stand Up for Life!
Malta...Stand Up for Life!
As you must be aware, this past summer – and now, especially, in the last weeks – we have seen a radical push to legalize anti-life measures that could lead to introduction of abortion in Malta. [1 & 4]
LIFE IS NOW UNDER THREAT IN MALTA!
We, the people of Malta - who cherish our children, born and unborn, must act! We must tell our politicians, our government, in no uncertain terms: Malta is proud to be pro-life! It is a mark of honour and decency to protect the most vulnerable in civil society.
With this in mind, Life Network Malta is now gearing up to rally the Maltese people in protection of Life - to show our politicians that the majority of voters reject the Government's recent, wrong-headed approach to this most important issue.
In addition to future street demonstrations and pickets, Life Network Malta is right now collecting signatures for an urgent pro-life petition.
This petition adamantly DEMANDS that Parliament does TWO URGENT things:
FIRST, reject any attempt to decrease protection of the human embryo in the Embryo Protection Act, which would inevitably lead to loss of human life, and
SECOND, introduce pro-life protections into the Maltese Constitution. Please see our petition (the right half of this page) for a suggested pro-life amendment for our Constitution.
If you read and approve of our petition, which is addressed to our Government leaders as well as to the members of the opposition, and to all Maltese MPs, please sign now, providing your name, email address, and ID Card Number (to validate your signature) in the space provided. Don't worry about the Zip/Postal Code! And, after signing, if you can share this petition with your like-minded friends and family, that would help to increase the total number of signatures. Thank you!
Below, please continue reading for a more lengthy discussion of the issues, including recent, documented evidence on the same.
Here is a summary of and comment on three recent events in the push to legalize abortion in Malta. For more information, please see the links at the bottom of the page.
1) At the end of July, a group called “Pro-choice Malta” came out for abortion to be legalized in Malta. [1]
2) Just a couple of weeks ago, on 6th September, the Government announced plans to introduce embryo freezing – a technique currently prohibited under the Embryo Protection Act. [2]
This is completely contrary to both parties’ electoral manifestos on life issues! [3] It is a political travesty, and it must not be allowed. This is not what we voted for!!!
Indeed, in its election manifesto, the incumbent party in government had only this to say about IVF and the Embryo Protection Act: “We will ensure that the competent authority regulating IVF receives all the necessary resources so that the recently passed law can be applied fully and be available free of charge to all couples who need this treatment.” (n.43) [3]
NB: Nothing was said and no clue was given about amending the law to allow practices such as donation of gametes, surrogacy or embryo freezing!!!
3) On 7th September, Alfred Sant, a Maltese MEP, said that abortion should be legalized to “save the life of the mother”. [4]
This last event needs a special comment because this argument is frequently used by pro-abortion forces who try to introduce abortion into different jurisdictions by muddying the waters on this issue.
In the case of an expectant mother, doctors and nurses in Malta work to save the life of two patients when there is a critical situation.
The truth is: no life-saving procedures are ever denied to expectant mothers in Malta. Unfortunately, sometimes, an unborn child may die as an indirect result of the treatment to the mother, if the mother so chooses, but this is diametrically-opposed to intentionally taking the life of the unborn child.
In fact, it is worth noting that Malta’s maternal mortality is one of the lowest in the world, far below even the US and Britain. [5] Women are simply not dying in maternity hospitals in Malta for lack of abortion, so there is absolutely no need to introduce any such measures.
Why is it important to reject embryo freezing and gamete donation?
Embryo freezing is a grave attack on the humanity of the unborn child because it facilitates the easy disposal of and destruction of innocent human life. [6] This is one reason why it is prohibited in our current legislation.
The Embryo Protection Act serves to protect the human embryo from destruction, manipulation and freezing, and, to ensure that every child will, as far as possible, know their biological mother and father. Gamete donation and surrogacy is not permitted under the Act. [7]
Why should Parliament introduce pro-life measures into the Maltese Constitution?
Our laws are a reflection of who we are as a society. As polls consistently show, 80%+ of the Maltese people to be pro-life. [8] Therefore, we now need to ensure that our laws reflect our culture and reverence for the most vulnerable human life – the unborn child, from conception.
Our politicians have a duty to safeguard and reflect this pro-life culture by seeking to enshrine Constitutional protections for the unborn child.
The fact is, that the political parties electoral manifestos never said that they would, in any way, loosen the restrictions found in the Embryo Protection Act, nor give way to the legalization of abortion. This means that the Government does not have the people’s mandate to enact such "reforms". We are living in a democracy...not in an elected tyranny.
In 2013, Labour Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs, and Civil Liberties, Helena Dalli, wrote in an official report, on the Government’s position in relation to Life: “…human life begins at conception, [therefore] the termination of pregnancy through procedures of induced abortion at any stage of gestation was an infringement of this right.” [9]
Affirmation of this statement by the honorable minister must be upheld at all times. Any amendments to the Embryo Protection Act that endanger human life, and the rights of that human being, make a mockery of the same law, aptly named to show that protection of the human embryo is paramount.
Life issues are human rights issues, not party politics! An absolute majority of Maltese people agree on this point!
For those of us who care about Human Life in Malta, now is the time to be courageous and act! We cannot sit idly by and allow events to overtake us. We cannot, must not, succumb to international anti-life pressures.
We must prevail in our defense of life from conception to natural death.
This is Malta’s hour - we are a people who treasure our children. We must now act to preserve one of our finest traditions – that of being pro-life.
Who knows, Malta may be the start that could lead to overturning the anti-life mentality in the rest of Europe!!
Please sign this important petition and take a stand FOR Life!
Thank you!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
[3] Partit Nazzjonalista (n. 35): "Min ma jistax ikollu tfal: Wara li ghaddejna l-ligi li tirregola l-fertilizzazzjoni assistita (IVF) (IVF) se nitroducu din il-procedura bhala parti mis-servizz tas-sahha pubblika biex inti tkun tista' taghmel din il-procedura b'xejn u minghajr ma jkollok ghalfejn tmur barra minn Malta.”
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Petition to: The Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives
Dear Hon. Messers and Mesdames,
By means of this letter, we, the undersigned, are hereby presenting a petition in support of the fundamental human right to life and against any amendments to any laws which may endanger human life from the moment of conception.
Successive Maltese governments have always been at the forefront of protecting human life, both locally and in international fora. Malta actively defended the rights of the unborn child during negotiations on European Union accession when it absolutely insisted that 'nothing in the EU Treaty shall affect the application in the territory of Malta of national legislation relating to abortion.' [Protocol No 7 – On Abortion in Malta]
In 2013, the Honourable Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, Helena Dalli, in an official report on the Government's position in relation to Life, wrote: "… human life begins at conception; [therefore] the termination of pregnancy through procedures of induced abortion at any stage of gestation was an infringement of this right."
And, in reference to the matter of undue influence from European Institutions, the Right Honourable Prime Minister recently stated: "If they instruct us to introduce abortion, we will reply - 'Noted, but no thank you.'"
Such staunchly positive pro-life attitudes on the part of successive governments, despite growing international pressures to the contrary, reflect a prevailing Maltese culture of human values that, according to recent surveys, remains more than 80% pro-life.
It is, therefore, with profound concern that we observe the weakening of this stance, inherent in and consequent to the proposed amendments to the Embryo Protection Act.
Human life starts with conception. Any medical or scientific interventions to freeze, thaw, experiment on, or throw away embryos, at whatever stage of development, will necessarily entail the degradation and, or destruction of a human life.
Sperm donation, ova donation and surrogacy turn children and women into commodities and deny the child's right to know and be raised by his or her biological parents. As such, these procedures should not be allowed under any circumstances.
In view of the above, we ask, with respect, that Parliament refrain from enacting such amendments to the Embryo Protection Act.
Moreover, we propose an amendment to the Constitution with the intention of safeguarding the right to life of the human embryo from the moment of conception.
This would be an act without precedent that would position Malta at the forefront of the battle to protect the world's most unique and precious resource – Life.
We look to our elected representatives to rise to the challenge.
Thank you, in advance, for your careful consideration of this most important matter. As a Maltese citizen and voter, I expect you to give to the unborn child - at every stage of development - his or her due protection in law, as a fellow human being.
Below, please see the specific Pro-Life Amendments which are proposed to safeguard human life in the Maltese Constitution.
FIRST, it is proposed to change Section 32 of Chapter IV (Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual) of the Maltese Constitution, by adding three new words, as follow in UPPER-CASE, so that the new Section will read:
32. Whereas every person in Malta, BORN, AND UNBORN, is entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, that is to say, the right, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest, to each and all of the following, namely -
(a) life, liberty, security of the person, the enjoyment of property and the protection of the law;
(b) freedom of conscience, of expression and of peaceful assembly and association; and
(c) respect for his private and family life,
AND, SECOND, it is proposed to add a NEW sub-paragraph (1b) in Section 33 of the Maltese Constitution - the Section of the Constitution which specifically relates to the Protection of the Right to Life, so that the first two paragraphs of Section 33 will read as follows:
Protection of Right to Life.
33. (1a) No person shall intentionally be deprived of his life save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under the law of Malta of which he has been convicted.
(1b) Recognition of the human embryo shall start from the moment of conception, and shall be protected throughout gestation and until birth.
Commentary: Section 32 of the Maltese Constitution provides the preamble for Section 33. By specifically referring to "born and unborn" in Section 32, the rights enumerated thereafter would also be guaranteed and vindicated by the Maltese Constitution. And, then, by adding the sub-paragraph (1b) in Section 33 - the Section which specifically deals with the protection of the right to life - the human embryo's right to be protected is guanteed in law.
These simple pro-life amendments would have the effect of significantly strengthening the protection of unborn human life in Malta, and would also give legal fortification to the certain intentions of the Embryo Protection Act...as well as to the desire of the majority of Maltese people to defend nascent human life from manipulation and destruction.
Thank you, again, for considering this urgent proposal.
Kind regards in Life.
Petition to: The Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives
Dear Hon. Messers and Mesdames,
By means of this letter, we, the undersigned, are hereby presenting a petition in support of the fundamental human right to life and against any amendments to any laws which may endanger human life from the moment of conception.
Successive Maltese governments have always been at the forefront of protecting human life, both locally and in international fora. Malta actively defended the rights of the unborn child during negotiations on European Union accession when it absolutely insisted that 'nothing in the EU Treaty shall affect the application in the territory of Malta of national legislation relating to abortion.' [Protocol No 7 – On Abortion in Malta]
In 2013, the Honourable Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, Helena Dalli, in an official report on the Government's position in relation to Life, wrote: "… human life begins at conception; [therefore] the termination of pregnancy through procedures of induced abortion at any stage of gestation was an infringement of this right."
And, in reference to the matter of undue influence from European Institutions, the Right Honourable Prime Minister recently stated: "If they instruct us to introduce abortion, we will reply - 'Noted, but no thank you.'"
Such staunchly positive pro-life attitudes on the part of successive governments, despite growing international pressures to the contrary, reflect a prevailing Maltese culture of human values that, according to recent surveys, remains more than 80% pro-life.
It is, therefore, with profound concern that we observe the weakening of this stance, inherent in and consequent to the proposed amendments to the Embryo Protection Act.
Human life starts with conception. Any medical or scientific interventions to freeze, thaw, experiment on, or throw away embryos, at whatever stage of development, will necessarily entail the degradation and, or destruction of a human life.
Sperm donation, ova donation and surrogacy turn children and women into commodities and deny the child's right to know and be raised by his or her biological parents. As such, these procedures should not be allowed under any circumstances.
In view of the above, we ask, with respect, that Parliament refrain from enacting such amendments to the Embryo Protection Act.
Moreover, we propose an amendment to the Constitution with the intention of safeguarding the right to life of the human embryo from the moment of conception.
This would be an act without precedent that would position Malta at the forefront of the battle to protect the world's most unique and precious resource – Life.
We look to our elected representatives to rise to the challenge.
Thank you, in advance, for your careful consideration of this most important matter. As a Maltese citizen and voter, I expect you to give to the unborn child - at every stage of development - his or her due protection in law, as a fellow human being.
Below, please see the specific Pro-Life Amendments which are proposed to safeguard human life in the Maltese Constitution.
FIRST, it is proposed to change Section 32 of Chapter IV (Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual) of the Maltese Constitution, by adding three new words, as follow in UPPER-CASE, so that the new Section will read:
32. Whereas every person in Malta, BORN, AND UNBORN, is entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, that is to say, the right, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest, to each and all of the following, namely -
(a) life, liberty, security of the person, the enjoyment of property and the protection of the law;
(b) freedom of conscience, of expression and of peaceful assembly and association; and
(c) respect for his private and family life,
AND, SECOND, it is proposed to add a NEW sub-paragraph (1b) in Section 33 of the Maltese Constitution - the Section of the Constitution which specifically relates to the Protection of the Right to Life, so that the first two paragraphs of Section 33 will read as follows:
Protection of Right to Life.
33. (1a) No person shall intentionally be deprived of his life save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under the law of Malta of which he has been convicted.
(1b) Recognition of the human embryo shall start from the moment of conception, and shall be protected throughout gestation and until birth.
Commentary: Section 32 of the Maltese Constitution provides the preamble for Section 33. By specifically referring to "born and unborn" in Section 32, the rights enumerated thereafter would also be guaranteed and vindicated by the Maltese Constitution. And, then, by adding the sub-paragraph (1b) in Section 33 - the Section which specifically deals with the protection of the right to life - the human embryo's right to be protected is guanteed in law.
These simple pro-life amendments would have the effect of significantly strengthening the protection of unborn human life in Malta, and would also give legal fortification to the certain intentions of the Embryo Protection Act...as well as to the desire of the majority of Maltese people to defend nascent human life from manipulation and destruction.
Thank you, again, for considering this urgent proposal.
Kind regards in Life.
