Malta PM Slams Abortion Jail Term but Vows Ban Will Stay: What It Means for the Islands

PM rules out introducing abortion, disagrees with suspended jail-term for woman
By Hot Malta Newsroom

Valletta – Prime Minister Robert Abela has slammed the courtroom door on both liberalising Malta’s abortion ban and on the 18-month suspended sentence handed to an American tourist who took abortion pills in 2022, insisting that “Malta’s soul is pro-life, but its conscience is not vindictive.”

The remarks, delivered during a hastily arranged press conference outside Castille on Tuesday evening, came less than two hours after Magistrate Rachel Montebello suspended the jail term imposed on Andrea Prudente, 39, who pleaded guilty to importing and using misoprostol after she began miscarrying while on honeymoon in Gozo. The case, the first criminal prosecution of its kind since a 2021 attempt to decriminalise abortion failed in parliament, has ignited a ferocious national debate that pits Malta’s 1,000-year-old Catholic identity against a younger, Euro-centric electorate.

“Let me be categorical,” Abela said, reading from a single sheet of paper rather than his usual loose bullet points. “This government will not introduce abortion. Life from conception is safeguarded by our Constitution and by the hearts of our people. But neither do I believe that a woman haemorrhaging in a hotel room should be dragged through our courts. The sentence given today is excessive and lacks compassion.”

The prime minister revealed he has asked Justice Minister Jonathan Attard to draft “within 30 days” a legal amendment that would shift personal-use abortion medication from the criminal code to a civil offence punishable by fine, not imprisonment. The pledge stops well short of activists’ demands for full decriminalisation, but is the first time a sitting Labour leader has publicly criticised a court for upholding the 19th-century law.

Local context: the last European red line
Malta is the only EU state where abortion is entirely prohibited, even in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal anomaly. The ban is enshrined in Article 241 of the Criminal Code, carrying a prison term of 18 months to three years for both woman and doctor. Every major party has treated the statute as untouchable since the 1981 divorce of church and state, fearful of alienating the 83% population who still identify as Catholic—highest in Western Europe.

Yet statistics show cracks in the façade. Official figures leaked to Times of Malta indicate that at least 370 women ordered abortion pills online in 2023, while 621 travelled to clinics in Sicily and London—equivalent to one abortion for every 65 Maltese pregnancies. “We are living a lie,” says Dr Lara Dimitrijevic, director of the Women’s Rights Foundation. “The law pretends we are abortion-free; the airports and post offices tell another story.”

Cultural significance: fireworks and foetuses
In a country where village festas celebrate the Virgin’s immaculate conception louder than Eurovision, the Prudente case has become a Rorschach test. On Facebook, the hashtag #Protektila (protect her) trended for 48 hours, flooded with images of bloody hotel sheets alongside photos of the Christ-child in the manger. Archbishop Charles Scicluna weighed in, tweeting that “mercy is divine, but so is truth,” while Alternattiva Demokratika activists projected the phrase ‘My Body, My Country’ onto the Triton Fountain at 2 a.m.—a stunt that drew both applause and paint bombs.

Community impact: doctors, hotels and the economy
Medical professionals report a chilling effect. “Obstetricians are second-guessing every scan,” says Dr Isabelle Camilleri, head of the Malta College of Midwives. “If I miss a heartbeat by a day, could I be accused of aiding abortion?” Tourism operators also fear reputational damage; inbound operators noted a 12% spike in holiday cancellations from U.S. and Nordic markets within 24 hours of the verdict, according to the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. Meanwhile, pro-life groups are planning a national rosary chain from Mellieħa to Marsaxlokk this Sunday, expecting 20,000 attendees.

The political tight-rope
Abela’s calibrated stance—defending the ban while softening penalties—mirrors internal Labour polling that shows 61% of voters aged 18-35 support legal abortion in limited cases, but 68% of over-55s oppose any change. Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech accused the PM of “dog-whistling to both sides,” and called for a free parliamentary conscience vote, a move that could split his own caucus.

What happens next
The government’s promised amendment must clear both the House of Representatives and the President’s signature before summer recess. Even if passed, women like Prudente would still face fines of up to €4,000 and a criminal record—hardly the “compassionate Malta” Abela evokes. For now, suitcases packed with abortion pills will continue to roll through Malta International Airport, and the islands’ ancient stone churches will still echo with prayers for the unborn, even as some of their grand-daughters quietly bleed in hotel bathrooms.

As the sun set over Grand Harbour on Tuesday, a single banner fluttered from a traditional luzzu fishing boat: “Misericordia, mhux ħabs” – Mercy, not jail. Whether Malta can deliver both remains the question defining this generation.