London, England, Jul 15, 2019 / 02:42 pm (CNA).- As the British parliament continues to consider a bill on Northern Ireland including amendments that would legalize abortion and same-sex marriage, a peeress from the region has warned the amendments are “not workable.”
The bill and its amendments will take effect only if the Northern Ireland Assembly, which has been suspended the past two years due to a dispute between the two major governing parties, is not functional by Oct. 21.
Last week the House of Commons voted to add amendments legalizing same-sex marriage and liberalizing abortion provision in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill, which is designed to keep the region running in the absence of a functioning devolved government.
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Jail time for women? Marlene makes the conservatives call a spade a spade
Marlene Farrugia has kicked the ball into the court of the conservatives: who will stand up to justify the imprisonment of women who terminate their pregnancy?
19 May 2021, 7:41am
by James Debono
Adventures in legislation: independent MP Marlene Farrugia presented a motion for a private member’s bill to decriminalise abortion, which in Malta leads to the imprisonment of women to up to three years and of medical professionals to up to four years
Just like Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, her ex-husband, did in 2010 by presenting a private members bill on divorce, independent MP Marlene Farrugia has dropped a bombshell on the political system.
A small group of pro-choice campaigners gathered in front of parliament in a sit-down protest calling for MPs to debate a private member s bill to decriminalise abortion.
The group of around ten activists, carrying placards saying women should decide their own fate and my body, my choice sat in a row outside the Valletta building on Wednesday evening.
In an unprecedented move last week, Independent MP Marlene Farrugia presented a bill proposing that a woman is not penalised for having an abortion, which currently carries a maximum three-year prison term.
However the House Business Committee, which decides the agenda of the House, has so far failed to list it for debate. A request for abortion to be discussed within parliament s Health Committee has also been rejected.
When independent MP Marlene Farrugia presented a private member’s bill proposing the decriminalisation of abortion in Malta, temperatures soared, as vested parties on both sides made the case on why abortion should or should not be legislated.
However, there is a key difference between decriminalisation and legalisation.
Abortion in Malta is legislated by articles 241(1) and 242, which both prohibit anyone from getting an abortion and imposes a penalty on the person who terminates a pregnancy and any person who assists them.
A guilty sentence carries a prison term of anything between 18 months up to three years.
Farrugia’s bill is proposing that these articles be struck off and instead be replaced by a provision imposing 10 years in prison for anyone who carries out a forced or non-consensual abortion.