Malta’s government today backed down on a bill that would have allowed abortion if the mother’s health was at serious risk, saying instead that termination of pregnancy would only be allowed when the mother’s life is in danger and only under strict conditions. conditions.

Malta is the only country in the European Union with a total ban on abortion, and the original bill had sparked a backlash, with abortion opponents arguing that the definition of what constitutes a health risk was too broad.

Local media reported that the country’s president, George Vella, told the government that he would rather resign than sign the original version of the bill.

This information was never denied and Vela made his concern known publicly by repeatedly asking for the text to be revised.

Health Secretary Chris Fearn said today that the bill is being amended to allow termination of pregnancy only when the mother’s life is at risk, when all other possible means of treatment have been exhausted.

The procedure must be approved by three doctors and can only be performed in a licensed clinic.

Under current law, if a doctor terminates a pregnancy to save the mother’s life, they face up to four years in prison.

Abortion will remain illegal in all other cases, including rape, incest and serious fetal abnormalities.

The law was drafted after American tourist Andrea Prudente, who was on holiday in Malta, was unable to terminate a non-viable pregnancy in June 2022 when she began to bleed uncontrollably.

Her doctors told her her life was in danger and she was eventually flown to Spain where she underwent an abortion.

The revised bill is expected to be approved by parliament in the coming weeks.