Until now, Malta has been the only country in the European Union with a total ban on abortion, but that might soon change. Safe and legal abortion is available on request in most EU countries and is often even fully funded by the state. Apart from Malta, only Poland currently has highly restrictive access to abortion. Meanwhile, the rise of the far-right in Italy has awakened the fears of pro-choice citizens and expats there.
Malta is set to allow abortion if the mother's life is at risk
Until now, Malta has been the only remaining country in the European Union to not allow abortion in any case. This includes cases where the fetus is severely malformed, where the mother could die, where the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, and where the parents are underage. Malta's criminal code dates back to the 19th century, when the island was a British colony, and makes women risk 3 years behind bars and doctors risk 4 years in jail if found guilty of performing an abortion.
Unfortunately, these laws also apply to foreign nationals, including expats, on the island. Expats are perfectly allowed to fly back to their home countries to get an abortion, but they cannot get it while in Malta itself. Thanks to a booming economy in the sectors of finance, technology and professional services, Malta has attracted many expats in recent years. As reported by The Guardian, 20% of the island's population is now comprised of expats – 100,000 out of 500,000. Some of these expats might find it difficult to fly out if their papers are not in order (e.g., work permits are being renewed) and if they need a last-minute, emergency abortion.
Women in Malta have rarely been investigated or charged for abortion in the 21st century. However, they still need to either order pills illegally online or travel to nearby countries (notably Sicily) to terminate a pregnancy. However, in mid-2022, a highly-mediatized case changed everything: an American tourist nearly died while holidaying on the island because she was denied an emergency abortion. She was saved only because her travel insurance managed to airlift her to Spain. Her case prompted Malta's Ministry of Health, Chris Fearne, to table a bill proposal that would legalize abortion if the mother's health or life is in danger. The bill is currently being debated in parliament and, if passed, will bring Malta's abortion law slightly more on par with the European norm.
Abortion is available on request in most EU countries
While many countries around the world share Malta's strict laws, they are an anomaly within the European Union. Indeed, in an overwhelming majority of EU countries, abortion is available simply on request. This is the case in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. This means that in these countries, there is absolutely no need to provide any reason for why one is seeking an abortion.
In the aforementioned countries, abortion is also available for foreign nationals living in the country, that is, immigrants, expats and international students. In some, notably France, it is even available to visiting non-residents from outside the EU. This provides an emergency plan for women from non-EU countries with restrictive abortion laws as long as they can afford an overseas trip. Of course, these non-EU visitors must pay for the abortion there while it is free for residents who are covered by French public healthcare.
Free abortion also exists in other EU countries with well-established public healthcare. For instance, in Spain, any citizen or resident can get an abortion for free from a public hospital within 14 weeks of their pregnancy. However, a law of “conscientious objection” can make doctors in Spain arbitrarily refuse to perform it on personal moral or religious grounds. As The Local reports, this refusal can make abortion inaccessible for many Spanish women, who need to travel to other regions of the country to find willing doctors. Actually, 21 EU countries allow the same “conscientious objection” from medical personnel.
Finland had been an exception to the norm of abortion by request until late 2022. Previously, abortion was available within 12 weeks of pregnancy only if the woman could provide a health or social justification for it. The woman needed to have a reason like already having too many kids (at least four), being unable to take care of a child because of illness or a lack of financial means, or having plans (e.g., studies) that would be disrupted by unplanned parenthood. She also needed the approval of two doctors. However, in October 2022, the Finnish parliament approved a reform that eased the aforementioned requirements. Women in Finland, including expats, can now request an abortion without any justification within 12 weeks and need only one doctor's approval.
Earlier in 2022, Germany undertook a reform in the same direction. In June, it abolished a Nazi-era law that technically made abortion illegal even if, in practice, it has long been performed within 12 months of pregnancy without any sanctions. Scrapping the archaic law now allows doctors to provide more precise information about their termination services. Ireland is yet another EU country to have eased its abortion laws recently. In 2018, the historically Catholic country finally allowed abortion within 12 weeks. It did so with the Health Act 2018, which was voted for by the people through a referendum.
The time limit for abortion on request can vary between EU countries. As the Centre for Reproductive Rights says, and as seen in the aforementioned examples, it varies between 12-24 weeks. Abortion within the first trimester is generally allowed. However, it can be exceptionally allowed later into the pregnancy if the woman develops potentially fatal health complications.
Another limitation in some EU countries is mandatory pre-procedure counseling. In Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands and Slovakia, women who wish to have an abortion must obligatorily attend a counseling session and wait for a few days after the session before finalizing their decision.
Poland dismantled most of its abortion rights in 2020
If Finland, Malta and Germany have made progress in easing their abortion restrictions, Poland has done the exact opposite. In late 2020, the Polish authorities instituted a near-total ban on abortion. While abortion is still allowed in cases of rape, incest, or serious threat to the mother's life, it is now banned in all other situations, including in cases of serious deformation or illness in the fetus. Women do not face a jail term, but those who assist them in carrying out an abortion (i.e., medical personnel) do face time behind bars.
At the European Parliament, women have been pressurizing the EU to put more pressure on Poland to reverse this repressive reform. The lawyer Kamila Ferenc and Barbara Skrobol, the relative of a Polish woman who died after being denied an abortion, argued with the European Parliament that these strict laws endanger women's lives. Skrobol's sister-in-law, Izabela Sajbor, had died of sepsis in the hospital in 2021 after her malformed fetus wasn't allowed to be terminated. They say that at least 6 women have died this way in Poland since the ban. Sajbor's death had triggered pro-choice protests in the country, but the ban remains in place.
The chair of the European Parliament's Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee, Robert Biedron, has called attention to how vulnerable Ukrainian refugees in Poland are also subject to these restrictions. Naturally, expats are also subject to them.
The rise of the far-right in other EU countries could create the same retrogression as in Poland. Italy's newly elected Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, for instance, could potentially reverse abortion rights in the country. The right to an abortion within 90 days (nearly 13 weeks) of a pregnancy has been recognized by Law 194 of the Italian Constitutional Court since 1978. Like in Spain, however, doctors can refuse to perform an abortion as “conscientious objectors.”
Meloni has been ambiguous until now about her abortion policies, saying that she doesn't “want to touch Law 194” but wants to “guarantee a woman's right not to abort.” However, pro-choice protesters following her victory express their skepticism about her words. They fear that Meloni's emphasis on traditional gender roles will eventually make her curb Law 194. As Meloni is barely a month into her new term, everything remains to be seen.
