Watch: Dr Natalie Psaila, Dr Saveria Cremona, Dr Jamie Grech, Prof Isabel Stabile speak about what they want for women in Malta on International Women's Day 2021.
Dr Natalie Psaila: "Jien Dr Natalie Psaila, u x-xewqa tiegħi għal jum il-mara hi li n-nisa jieqfu jitqiesu bħala inkubaturi, ladarba jkunu tqal. Nixtieq li n-nisa jkollhom id-dritt li jgħażlu jagħmlu b'ħajjithom dak li jixtiequ mingħajr indħil mingħand ħadd. Għaldaqstant nixtieq li jkun hawn kontraċezzjoni disponibbli u aċċess għall-abort. L-għażliet tan-nisa għandhom ikunu rispettati u ħadd m'għandu jiddubita d-deċiżjoni tagħhom, tkun xi tkun. In-nisa huma kapaċi jagħmlu l-għażliet tagħhom."
Dr Saveria Cremona: "My name is Saveria Cremona, and I'm a junior doctor. What I want for women in Malta, women who hold a positive pregnancy test in their hand, and a crippling fear in their stomach, is to find some comfort in their doctor. I want women to get reliable information, reliable counselling, and reliable medication. I want women to not be judged, but helped. I want them to be able to speak openly about their experiences, not be fugitives. I want women in Malta to have choice."
Dr Jamie Grech: "Hello, my name is Jamie Grech. And I am a doctor training in neonatology and paediatrics in Malta. What I want for women, this Women's Day celebration, is freedom. Freedom for women and girls to access contraception including emergency contraception enabling them to decide their own reproductive futures. I want girls to be free of outdated sexual education programmes that just don't cover the realities of sex or sexual health, setting them up to fail. I want victims of sexual violence, both women and girls, to be free to access abortion services, if they choose to without legal repercussions. After all, as we all know, abortion is healthcare. I want women and girls to be free to control their own bodies, and I want you to join us in that fight."
Prof Isabel Stabile: "My name is Professor Isabel Stabile, and I'm a gynaecologist. This is what I want for women in Malta, on this second Women's Day celebration during a pandemic. I want them to have choices, the choice to select the birth control method that suits them best and have it available, for free on the essential medicines list. I want them to be able to reach out 24/7 for emergency contraception and not be turned away by a conscientiously objecting pharmacist. I want their children to have access to comprehensive sexual education in school. I want women who become pregnant to have a choice about what happens next. I want women to be trusted to make the best decisions for themselves and their lives. I want women to be provided with the best standards of healthcare including access to abortion. I want the blanket ban on abortion, with criminal sanctions on women and their doctors, to be something of the past. Please join us in advocating for changes in the law to allow this to happen."