Abortion : breaking the barriers of patriarchy

Abstract

Abortion in Malta is a taboo. Abortion in Malta is a crime. Abortion in Malta is a sin. Women who perform abortion in Malta are breaking barriers, the barriers of patriarchy. Historically, birth control has always been socially regulated. Radical feminists have indeed emphasised the control of women’s reproductive role and how this is defined and controlled as being the root of patriarchal oppression. Since the emergence of the feminist movement, the right of access to effective and safe contraception, including the right to abortion on demand, has been a focal point around which many campaigns have been fought. There has however been strong resistance to demands for women’s right to control their own bodies, with abortion on demand as of right. Traditionally, the state, religion, and the medical profession have been pivotal agents in controlling access to safe abortion and instilling the discourse that it is criminal, sinful and abnormal. Nonetheless, women have always performed abortions by any means necessary regardless of restrictive legislation, religious dogma, and medical provision, often at considerable risk to their own health and lives. Consequently, this paper will provide an analysis of the social control of abortion in Malta through examining the medico-legal-moral discourse on the issue and the experiences of women who defied and broke through the barriers of this patriarchal control.