Can the European Court of Human Rights ever impose abortion on Malta?
Abortion and divorce are totally different issues. People make a mistake when they put them in the same basket because the values involved are significantly different. However, up to now the court has always avoided defining when protected life begins. It is a matter that has been left open and there is no case of the European Court of Human Rights, so far, that says abortion is a right. The court has said other things, which some people have misinterpreted. I was part of the Tysiac vs Poland case, which dealt with abortion. In this case Ms Tysiac felt aggrieved because despite abortion being legal in Poland if the mother’s health is in danger it is practically impossible to obtain one. The court was not called to determine whether abortion was a right or not but whether Ms Tysiac’s rights were breached because she was denied access to a right that was on the statute books. The court had found a violation of Ms Tysiac’s right. I cannot discuss the case of the three Irish women currentl
