Maltese politician discusses state of abortion rights in his country

Cyrus Engerer has been a champion of reproductive freedom in a country hostile to it.

Cyrus Engerer has fought for safe and legal abortion in the country of Malta for the past few years. He’s faced threats and helped women personally as he’s sought to reform the laws as a member of the European Parliament.

“While there's a majority now of young people who are in favor of abortion rights, there is an increasing number sort of those who are against It,” Engerer Said. “They're becoming more loud than in what they're saying or more vocal.”

“So it's an interesting time. I'm sure we will win the fight for women's rights. It may take a lot longer than it has done in other places, but it feels that the time is now ripe for change. And I believe that change will come.”

The punishment for the person who got an abortion is a three-year prison sentence. It’s two years for any professional or other person who would have helped in having that abortion. Any medical person who would have helped someone get an abortion would have their warrant and license as a medical practitioner lost.

The country recently reformed the law to allow for life-saving abortions if a three-doctor panel permits it. It’s unclear whether it would have to be unanimous or whether it would be a majority vote. Engerer said there isn’t official data showing how many women have been permitted.

Most women who get abortions either have to travel to London or the Netherlands. Or they request medication abortion on one of the international sites that provides it. Engerer estimates that nearly 500 people request mifepristone and misoprostol every year.

Usually, things get complicated when they start bleeding unexpectedly and need medical care. That’s when medical staff would discover that she had attempted a self-managed abortion.

“Doctors at that point are obliged to file a police report,” Engerer said. “So currently, we have a number of ongoing proceedings going on in court where women are being prosecuted for that. We've had some sentences. Not jail. But suspended jail sentences given in recent months.”

Because abortion is illegal, it’s challenging to organize protests in which women would speak about their experiences, as they do in America. Still, on Sept. 28 every year, they protest for abortion access. There were also some protests surrounding the Andrea Prudente case, which involved a 38-year-old American who visited Malta for a holiday in 2022. She suffered a ruptured membrane while 16 weeks pregnant and was denied an abortion while staying in the country. She had to go to Spain to get the care she needed.

Prudente challenged the law's constitutionality by filing a case against the Malta Health Ministry. It led to an effort to reform it. That triggered a wave of antiabortion protests from the Catholic Church and a small number of evangelicals supported by American groups. Engerer explained why some of the protests seem larger than the pro-choice ones.

There's a lot of more support (for abortion rights), but people are afraid to be seen,” Engerer said.

Engerer said that politicians have handled the situation poorly. The Nationalist Party is totally against it. The Labour Party, of which Engerer was once a member, is officially against it, but many within that side support abortion rights. He helped found a new party called Il-Progressivi, which is pro-choice.

Politicians with the Labour Party proposed to change the abortion law to allow it in certain exceptions, including for the mental and physical health of the mother. Right on the eve of the vote, the party’s leaders shifted their stance and amended the law to be far less expansive.

“That led to a huge demotivation in the pro-choice campaign, which felt cheated, totally cheated, because they had been in discussions for months with governments to find the best kind of law that would protect women, at least when it comes to health issues and mental health issues,” Engerer said.

“And then all of a sudden, while putting up a face for the government for that bill, then changing it the night before to something which has put the reality backward.”