Women's group urges investigation into 'abortion pill safes' in Malta

The  National Council of Women of Malta has called for an investigation into the presence of locked abortion pill 'safes' that have been placed at various locations within the country. Malta has some of the world's strongest pro-life laws, protecting nearly all preborn children from abortion.

Key Takeaways:

• In mid-April, the pro-abortion organization Women on Waves announced that it had installed 15 key safes containing the abortion pill regimen around the country of Malta.

• Women wanting to access the pills could contact the organization to receive lock combinations.

• The National Council of Women in Malta has issued a statement condemning the actions of Women on Waves, and calling on authorities to investigate the seemingly illegal activity.

What's Happening:

The pro-abortion organization Women on Waves announced in mid-April that it had installed 15 key safes around the country, each shuttered with a lock. Within the safes were the two drugs which comprise the abortion pill regimen, mifepristone and misoprostol. Anyone who contacted the organization would be given the code to open the lock and access the abortion drugs.

Women on Waves advertised the safes in a statement on its website.

"To call attention to the violation of women’s rights in Malta, Women on Waves has placed several abortion key safes across Malta and Gozo," the statement read. "The lockers contain abortion pills, a set of two commonly used and effective medications. Women who are less than 9 weeks pregnant and in need of a safe abortion can email us to get the location and the code of the lockers."

This is problematic for many reasons, not the least of which is that many women are unaware of how far along they are in pregnancy. As Live Action News previously reported:

The abortion pill's 'no-test' protocol (the ability to obtain it without proof of pregnancy, ultrasound, or any other testing) increases the likelihood that women are guessing at how far along their pregnancies are; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists noted that it has been said half of women accurately recall the date of their last menstrual period. And yet, the failure rate of the abortion pill increases with gestational age.

Women on Waves said it launched the abortion pill safes in correlation with an art exhibit at the Malta Maritime Museum, which featured banners asking, "Need Abortion Pills?"

As Live Action News previously reported, the banners were removed by the Malta Biennale shortly before the exhibit opened

The Details:

This week, the National Council of Women called for an investigation into the placement of the abortion pill safes. According to the Times of Malta, the council called on authorities to "urgently investigate" the safes, particularly in light of the fact that abortion is illegal in Malta.

The statement says, in part:

Any initiative which appears to facilitate access to abortion pills in Malta raises serious concerns about respect for the law, public safety, the protection of vulnerable women, and the protection of unborn life. The reports in the media raise serious questions about safeguards, verification, accountability, and the duty of care owed to women who may be frightened, isolated, pressured, or in crisis.

Women facing difficult or unexpected pregnancies deserve real support, not secrecy, isolation, or pills hidden in public places. Compassion must never be reduced to a coded lock box. A truly caring society responds by surrounding women with practical, emotional, medical, and social support, while also upholding the dignity and right to life of the unborn child.

NCW Malta, therefore, calls on the relevant authorities to urgently investigate the reported placement of these lock boxes and take all necessary steps to ensure that any illegal or unsafe activity is stopped. The Council also calls for clear public communication from the authorities so that women and families are not left confused or misled.

Zoom In:

In a statement to The Guardian, Women on Waves reported that 16 Maltese women had been in touch about accessing the abortion pills in the first two weeks of the campaign.

Women on Waves founder Rebecca Gomperts indicated that her group was simply fulfilling an "unmet demand."

"The only thing that we did is to make sure that they’re available there for women instead of having them wait for the mail,” she said.

But that easy availability is one of the many reasons the abortion pill is so dangerous. The abortion pill is known to cause serious complications, including hemorrhage, incomplete abortion, infection, and sepsis. The Obama administration's FDA changed reporting requirements for adverse events of the abortion pill, mandating for the first time that only deaths must be reported to the abortion pill manufacturers. This means that even serious and life-threatening complications are likely unreported and/or significantly underreported to the manufacturer and the FDA.

In the United States, it has a "black box warning" from the FDA. As John Hopkins University explained, "Black box warnings are added only when substantial clinical data shows the drug can cause severe harm, hospitalization, or death."

One study recently found that serious adverse events from mifepristone occur at a rate approximately 22 times higher than the rate reported on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) label for the drug, while other research has shown that 6% of women who take the abortion pill will require care at an ER or urgent care facility — and that is believed to be a low estimate.

When a woman takes such a dangerous drug without the oversight or care of a doctor, she is putting herself further in harm's way.

The Bottom Line:

In its statement, the National Council of Women reiterated that pregnant women need support — not abortion.

"NCW Malta reiterates the need for stronger, visible, and accessible support structures for pregnant women, especially those experiencing fear, poverty, pressure, abandonment, domestic violence, or lack of family support," it stated. "No woman should feel that she has no option except to act alone and in secrecy."