The plastic foetus army is back
Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water, Paul Vincenti and his moral army Gift of Life are back to bother us. You would think they might have used the summer to get a life for themselves from that gift-box of theirs, but no. They’ve spent the hot months holed up in their Life Bunker, plotting ways and means to thumb-screw still more foolish MPs into signing their whacky petition.
It’s as though we don’t have enough bizarre behaviour to contend with already, with the Opposition party going into a frenzy over a bit of mouse-cranium in a fussy midwife’s salad, a party leader who is hunting around for a parliamentary seat, and a political party (the same one, how odd) which has forgotten that it’s there to make policy and is going into the mobile telephony business instead. The news broke yesterday that Malta is the fourth most crowded country in the world, which probably accounts for all these public demonstrations of kookiness. We’re driving each other nuts. It won’t be long before there are men dressed as Napoleon Bonaparte and Julius Caesar declaiming from roundabouts beneath all those manifestations of public art in the shape of erect male organs and naked but unattractive couples.
The middle-aged men at Gift of Life have announced that they have returned to the fray, having given us a break for the summer (gee, thanks). I point out that they are middle-aged men not because I have anything against men (I have four of them at home) or against middle-aged people (I am one myself), but because they don’t appear to realise how inappropriate it is to have a campaign such as this one, which directly impinges on the life, rights and behaviour of women, led by bossy men. It is a public affairs disaster. For reasons that have to do with thousands of years of bitter experience of being treated like chattels by legal regimes that gave men rights over women, we women react very negatively indeed to the sight and sound of a bunch of pompous village elders trying to persuade the village chieftain that the scarlet woman in the next hut should be chained to a tree until she gives birth, whether she wants to or not. What is happening now is a contemporary variation on an age-old theme: control of the sexual life of women, and its results, by men. If there are any women working at this campaign minn wara il-kwinti, let them have the guts to show their faces to their fellow-women whose lives they are trying to help these men control.
Paul Vincenti and his men are now busy ministering, or so they tell us, to the needs of women fraught with guilt and sorrow because of an abortion they had. Florence Nightingale they are not. The closest parallel I can draw is with those Victorian gentlemen who made it their business to take a prurient interest in the rehabilitation of fallen women. If the depression that some women feel after having an abortion is an argument against it, as Vincenti seems to believe, then the debilitating and oddly named baby-blues suffered by a large percentage of women should be used as an argument against pregnancy and childbirth. Some women who have babies sink into psychosis. No woman has ever been known to do so because of an abortion. But clear thinking isn’t their strong point.
Gift of Life’s aim, just in case you haven’t heard about it a thousand times already, is to use the Maltese Constitution to ban abortion here for all time. Not satisfied with interfering in our lives today, this bunch of busy-bodies wants to control from the after-life the lives and mores of our great-great-great-great-grandchildren and their descendants. Unfortunately for Paul Vincenti and his bossy-boots band, their right-wing ‘I don’t know what civil rights are except in theory’ friend Tonio Borg has been removed as minister of justice and is now foreign minister, where he is busy opening embassies in fellow-feeling Poland. They have a new justice minister to contend with, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici. Quite frankly, I can’t see him using his office to write campaigning letters to the Jiu-Jitsu Association and the Malta Floral Club, urging them to support Gift of Life’s petition, as his predecessor did – unbelievably, and probably without censure by the prime minister.
Gift of Life has issued a public statement describing its goal as “updating the Constitution”. It might be seen as such if we were living in the 14th century, but we’re not. This is what happens when people develop an over-riding obsession and make it their life’s work to impose it on others. Paul Vincenti has gone on record as saying that his interest in the unborn child began when his wife struggled to carry even one pregnancy through to term. One understands that this is traumatic, but one also sees the root of something that might be construed as an unhealthy interest in foetuses. People who have gone through Damascene experiences often feel the compulsion to herd others towards their cause, but it usually ends in tears.
The right to life is already enshrined in the Maltese Constitution. Gift of Life wants this constitutional coverage to be extended to the unborn. Its members do not distinguish between those who are born and those who are still in the womb. The phrase ‘date of birth’, with its legal and biological implications, means nothing to them. Something that is the result of a sexual act that took place 48 hours previously has the same status and rights, they believe, as a 50-year-old father of five with a house and a job. Not that a 50-year-old father of five with a house and a job has more of a right to life than anyone else who is actually born, including a newborn baby: I just used that example to illustrate the absurdity of their claim.
The Criminal Code makes abortion a crime in Malta, which is different to making it a crime for a Maltese person. A Maltese woman can have an abortion 60 miles up the sea-road in Syracuse perfectly legally. Yet the Gift of Life men want something more: they want the dramatic gesture of the Constitution. They will be content with nothing less. Their first step is to meet Joseph Muscat today. Alfred Sant refused to sign their petition and did not allow the Labour Party to declare itself in favour of amending the Constitution to suit Paul Vincenti and his cohort Tony Mifsud – he who wants Maltese women of child-bearing age to give certified proof of pregnancy/non-pregnancy before leaving Malta, so that the pregnant ones can be tested again on their return and whisked off to jail if found wanting. This is about the only thing I can find to approve of in Sant – he shares my impatience with people like these. No doubt, Muscat will tell them all about his infant twins and how often he changes their nappies, and I will thank God I am not a fly on the wall of that meeting, experiencing the spectacle of grown men taking rather too much interest in babies and their feeds and nappies, to the point where one really has to wonder, if not out loud.
They claim that they have 39,000 ‘valid signatures’ on their petition. Quite what makes those signatures valid is beyond my comprehension. I suspect that they are about as valid as the signatures that housewives and pensioners brow-beaten on their doorstep by persistent salesmen append to contracts of purchase for large sets of encyclopaedias that they do not need, want or have the money to pay for. The petition-organisers probably asked for a ‘signature against abortion’ without explaining the various ins and outs of what they are actually trying to achieve.
People like me, who are fighting against the interfering, irritating and undemocratic goals of Gift of Life, are labelled by them as ‘baby-killers’ and ‘pro-abortionists’. I speak for myself when I say that I am neither. I am merely somebody who is tired of living in a country where the will of zealots is imposed on the rest of us, and where civil liberties and religion are forever presented as being in dire conflict with each other. Despite 160 years of colonial life, the British ideal of live and let live means nothing in Malta. We want others to live as we do, and will stand for nothing less. This does not mean that we want them to have the same house, car and clothes, but that we want them to follow our rules.
The Gift of Life people have said they are concerned “that there has been no reaction to this petition as yet from either side of the house”. That’s a shame. There should be an immediate reaction, from the prime minister, reassuring all those of us who are tired of these attempts at bringing Iranian democracy to Malta that we are safe from all such assaults.
This article is published in The Malta Independent today.
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39000 signatures – 9.75% of the population. I’m sure there is a bigger percantage of us who want divorce introduced but I don’t see any petitions being bandied around and supported by our MPs. If this 9.75% warrants entrenchment in the constitution (according to our Champion of Life), then divorce should have no problem being entrenched also.
People like Vincenti and Mifsud need to literally GET A LIFE!!!
I am totally against abortion, as I believe that there are a good number of ways to avoid unwanted pregnancy,and as such, a women can choose to be free before pregnancy.
Lacking Nostradamic qualities,I cannot tell what will happen in the forseeable future,however,I do not believe that my views regarding the subject should be written in stone, as such I cannot understand all this clamour about having this issue entrenched in our constitution.
What is the gift of life worried about?
As it currently stands, and without going into the debate of pro and against abortion, this is already a crime.
Should we have all crimes entrenched in our constitution?
Why the people at gift of life are trying to dictate what future generations decide baffles me.
(Daphne – While I agree with your stance on the Constitution and future generations, I can’t agree with you that women can choose not to get pregnant. Strictly speaking, this is correct: a woman can choose never to have sex with a man ever again, or to do so only while using at least three methods of contraception. In real life, accidents happen, and the younger a woman is, the more frequently they do. That’s why it’s young women who have the majority of abortions – not only because they feel they are too young to have a baby, but because between the ages of 16 and 25 a woman’s body is programmed to get pregnant as often and as easily as possible. There are lots of women who get pregnant at that age who actually can’t believe it happened. We are so accustomed to hearing about the experiences of women in their 30s who are finding it difficult or impossible to conceive that we have begun to think this is the normal state of affairs. It isn’t.)
Well said, Daphne!
Who does this bunch of obnoxious people think they are to impose on the rest of us? Do they or do they not know that we are a democracy? They should check that one out, which is well-stated on the Constitution they so much want to change.
Bloody sick minded people, who want their beliefs to be imposed on others. We are 2008, and these people seem pathological.
And by the way, who were these “genius” of MPs who signed on this petition?
(Daphne – A bunch of spineless people scared that Paul Vincenti and Tony Mifsud would out them as ‘baby-killers’ if they refused to sign. They’re trying to do the same to me, but are grossly handicapped by the fact that I’m a woman who had three children before the age of 24 and no abortions ever. So they don’t know how to tackle me.)
I’m sure of that, Daphne!
I truly admire you for that; not bending to accommodate others. Well, I’m sure you won’t listen to these “sick minded” obnoxious men (is so they are to be called), haven’t dealt with people of higher calibre and stubbornness and never were you afraid to speak your mind.
Trying to entrench such a clause in the Constitution is simply balderdash. Those MPs should have had some more balls and said no on first place. They are there to serve the country and not to accommodate a bunch of people. And I guess the majority of people inhabiting this island are against this absurd idea these Vincenti and Mifsud guys are proposing!
it is not a question of being pro or against abortion. it a question of freedom of choice. one has to have the opportunity to choose, not having others’ opinions imposed on you.
Elsewhere in the world:
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4775396.ece
I’m pro-choice for everything, be it abortion, divorce etc etc. But personally, I do not agree with abortion, but that doesnt mean that others have to share my point of view. It means only that if my partner or a close friend of mine ask me for advice I wont suggest abortion as a solution, still she/her being the carrier(& facing consequences) would be totally free to ignore me and do it!
“he who wants Maltese women of child-bearing age to give certified proof of pregnancy/non-pregnancy before leaving” … are you serious?
(Daphne Here’s his latest contribution on the subject of pregnant women being allowed to leave the country.)
Do you have the list of the names of the MPs who signed the petition for the Constitutional amendment please?
(Daphne – They haven’t bothered to give it to us. HEY, PAUL VINCENTI. I KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE LOOKING AT THIS. PLEASE GIVE US THE LIST OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO SIGNED YOUR PETITION, SO WE CAN AVOID VOTING FOR THEM NEXT TIME ROUND. THANKS.)
maybe GOL could turn to Google too Jacques.
Unbelievable! Following a meeting with the “Gift of Life” guys, our dear Dr. Muscat asked for more time to consider their ideas. Moreover, he said he will be discussing it with the other members! Pitiable!!
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080918/local/abortion-ban-in-the-constitution-muscat-seeks-more-time-to-consider-proposal
This is just ripe for a cock-up by Gonzi, and Fenech Adami. Let’s hope they don’t let their Catholic convictions get the better of them, although I don’t hold out much hope. We got into the EU with two additional declarations stapled, as it were, to the treaty’s cover sheet. Not a very good sign, that.
This is also a question of women’s rights. I hope the few women parliamentarians haven’t signed. At least Vincenti should tell us whether any of the six have signed and if yes who they are.
(Daphne – Haven’t you noticed that the people present in this debate are, with just a couple of exceptions, middle-aged men? The women have been driven into hiding, as usual, fearful that if they speak up and say what they really think about Gift of Life’s proposal, they will be seen as witches and baby-killers, and then men will be scared of them and won’t fancy them any more. Sigh. I despair.)
Just saw the MLP statement. The party’s position is already weakened by those mps who signed GOL’s petition. Now consultation is going to be held with these same mps. what if a majority of mps have signed? Why are people at the top so afraid to tell GOL where to get off?
It’s astonishing that people still ask themselves why “people at the top are so afraid to tell GOL where to get off” and frame this as some kind of loony GOL hijacking exercise.
There’s a whole context why GOL are able to keep their campaign going strong:
1) Several people at the top AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY with GOL’s line of thinking
2) Several people at the top are simply TERRIFIED of taking a line on ANY ISSUE
3) A long, long history of blurred Church-State relations
4) A ruling party whose centre of gravity is confessional and ultra-conservative on social issues
5) A virtually SILENT left-wing party over the past 15 years on social issues.
6) The total lack of anything resembling a feminist movement
7) The total lack of anything resembling a forceful liberal movement
8) A very, very timid group of left-wing intellectuals
9) Two mainstream newspapers whose editorials resemble those of Famiglia Cristiana or the Osservatore Romano
Context, folks, context.
It might be ingenious to pass of the GOL as some sort of loony outfit but it’s not that simple.
You’re right DF. It was a rhetorical question I was asking.
” A virtually SILENT left-wing party over the past 15 years on social issues” . I beg to differ ; wasn’t it in the campaign for the referendum that the MLP tried to dissuade us from voting for EU membership , by dangling the abortion carrot to the Maltese electorate? I remember a slogan on the MLP club’s balcony in Valletta stating that Malta is against abortion.
Ireland has had a prohibition against abortion in its constitution since 1984 and the implications this has had since were far-reaching on matters such as freedom of movement and expression.
This is because the Constitution is not simply a law that is more difficult to change, which is the picture GoL is trying to paint, but the supreme law. And do not be surprised if women will be prohibited from travelling on the suspicion that they are pregrant and they might try to procure an abortion abroad.
If GoL indeed cared for women and the “traumas” they suffer post-abortion they should have campaigned for something else: de-criminalising abortion for the mother. Some time back a girl attempted to abort, an attempt which failed. She changed her mind and decided she wanted to go on with the pregnancy.
Unfortunately, she had complications from the attempt, which required hospitalisation. Technically, she had committed a crime and she was reported by hospital staff. She was indicted and acquitted only thanks to a sensible magistrate.
As to the MPs who signed, GoL never published the list. It would be interesting to see how many of those who signed bit the dust in the last election.
(Daphne – Here it is, Fausto: the infamous X Case of 1992, in which a pregnant 14-year-old girl who had been raped by her neighbour was forcibly kept under police guard in Ireland when it became known that her parents planned to take her to England for an abortion. It was an international scandal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_v._X)
Forcing a woman to continue with a pregnancy against her will is heinous. Although abortion is no walk in the park, I cannot come to terms in accepting that the rights of the unborn are supreme, that the pregnant woman is relegated to and treated as if she were an incubator.
I cannot understand how women are not all in favour of abortion. I mean it’s their body we’re speaking about after all.
Since it has become the norm for nearly all commentators to this blog and to the blog of The Times to start their comment by stating that they are against abortion, as if it would be sacrilegious to discuss the topic without declaring your opposition to such abomination, I will end my comment by stating that I am in favour of abortion and would vote in favour of its introduction if ever given a chance.
19 responses on abortion, and all from men. wake up girls.
(Daphne – Kind of proves my point, doesn’t it? Even the river of comments telling Gift of Life where to shove its petition, on http://www.timesofmalta.com, are mainly from men. Maltese women are overly preoccupied with how they are perceived by men, and they don’t want men to think they are ‘baby-killers’, no matter how many abortions they might have had.)
I think most of you know my views in general! I am a practising Catholic.
In my view abortion is wrong, whether it’s a minute old embryo or months old.
However, even as a practising Catholic one MUST acknowledge that abortion cannot be treated like X stabbing Y for example. It is different full stop!
I personally cannot see, how even in Malta, one can (or should) stop a consenting doctor from performing the procedure on a consenting person.
However lines must still be drawn.
In the U.K. for example abortions can be carried out at 24 weeks – Now today babies are surviving being born at 24 weeks. Surely that should not allowed, religious beliefs apart!
In the U.S., abortions are even carried out at 28 weeks or later, even though technically in the U.S. abortions cannot be carried out if the child can survive outside the womb, albeit with artificial aid.
Partial birth abortions are perhaps the most horrendous crimes imaginable yet continue to be carried out!
Moreover a doctor should have the right to refuse to carry out abortions!
Surely at least all should agree to a limit when the baby can start feeling pain!
@ Daphne. On the other hand women’s reticence on the subject could be because they consider this an ultra private matter, and if they want to have an abortion they’re not going to let any Vincenti guy intrude. But they’d rather not talk about it. It’s strictly a question of doing not talking. They probably even (rightly) think that the Constitution joke will not materialise. So they just act in guarda e passa manner, and do what they have to do, while the men continue talking……….
(Daphne – Yes, that’s exactly what the situation is. But it’s not the reason why women don’t speak up. The real reason why they don’t speak up is the same for all issues where public opinion requires itself to be felt: women in Malta are trained from birth to think that assertiveness, and voicing an opinion is a demonstration of that, makes them less appealing to men. I too consider abortion to be a private matter, and I have a pretty good idea that the constitutional amendment won’t come through to fruition. This does not obscure my awareness of how important it is to make my views known. Indeed, it is precisely because I consider abortion to be a private matter, and not a public one, that I am doing this.)
@Daphne. Granted. But you have to give it to them that once they open their mouths they will be labelled pro-abortion and probably won’t have the time and energy to waste counteracting this sort of fundementalism. So, why bother? Thus I see the culture of submissiveness and ‘wanting to please men’ as only one side of the coin; I know of intelligent women who have given up on trying to have a civil debate on the issue or any other sensitive issue (even at a private dinner party, let alone in public); which goes to show that the problem we have as a country is that in spite of all the talk we hear on modernisation, in this aspect we are way way behind most of Europe. What is worse is what you said earlier re the lack of a ‘ live and let live’ attitude. In these circumstances, you just throw your hands up in the air, roll over your eyes and give up, live your life, get out of here as often as you can, and live a quiet life enjoying Malta’s assets keeping in mind that intelligent debate isn’t one of them….. Actually you don’t have to keep it im mind, there are people like Vincenti who make sure that we don’t forget.
I feel like I’m at an AA meeting… My name is Paula and I am against Gift of Life and all it stands for. To use a word I think you used, Daphne, (in a comment on the Times website) I believe abortion is ugly and it is a very emotional and PRIVATE issue, but as is the case with many issues in Malta, it’s being tackled completely the wrong way round. If Paul Vincenti and his ilk wasted the same time and energy on campaigning for, say, decent sex education in schools, including the proper use of – horrors! – contraceptives, then he wouldn’t have to worry so much. Obviously, I don’t believe that this is going to solve the problems of unwanted pregnancies but it’s a start. This mentality of ‘abstinence only’ is completely and utterly useless. Ask Sarah Palin’s daughter!
I am a 23 year old who is strongly in favour of abortion. If I am ever in that situation I do not know what I will do however I do not believe other people should suffer because of a couple of ‘MEN’ ideas. I have a hunch abortion will be legalized.
And anyways if I ever wanted to have one, sicily is a 30 minute plane ride, holland gives them free to EU citizens ….the list goes on….