‘She Needed Help, Not Someone Reporting Her For An Abortion’: Peppi Slams Court Sentence

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Peppi Azzopardi has fiercely criticised the doctor who allegedly reported a woman for having an abortion when she was seeking medical help. Speaking to Lovin Malta, Peppi emphasised that despite everything, a patient should be safe when seeking help from their doctors and that this sensitive information shouldn’t be weaponised to her detriment.“If there is any obligation for a doctor to report an abortion, it should be removed today. Because now, women will be in a situation where they’re afraid to seek medical care,” he urged. Just yesterday, a woman was handed a 22-month prison term, suspended for two years, for having an abortion. It is believed that she was reported by healthcare professionals after she sought help for the pain that resulted in the at-home abortion.Peppi – a vocal pro-life advocate who recently featured on The Hot Seat tackling this sensitive issue – strongly condemned the court’s sentence, expressing his shock at the decision to chastise a woman who had an abortion and clearly stated that the punishment does not fit the crime.“What’s worse”, he said, “is that it seems that a doctor reported her for having an abortion, that’s unbelievable.”“She needed help, this help should have been given to her unconditionally and not with any repercussions.”Peppi stood by his belief that abortion is murder and should remain illegal. However, he argued that the courts should cater to the context of a crime, claiming that the woman who had this abortion is not a danger to society and shouldn’t be treated as such.He stated that there should be a process, less harsh than the criminal courts and not necessarily involving court at all, which acknowledges that the woman “killed a person” but doesn’t result in stripping her of her liberties and treating her like a criminal.Peppi is an avid critic of the prison and justice system. In most cases, he believes that people should be given help rather than punishment.“In certain cases, you inevitably have to take away the freedom of people who committed a crime – but the place where they are held should never be a form of prison, it should be a place filled with love.”Probed on his argument that abortion is murder, he stated that there are different degrees and different contexts, and these should be the factors of the outcome of a case.“I can never agree that this woman should have a prison sentence hanging over her, because I’m against the very concept of prison as a form of vengeance.”He also criticised the fact her sentence will be on this woman’s criminal record permanently. In a general sense, he opposed the idea that a person should be punished, stigmatised and disadvantaged in society after serving the sentence handed to them for a crime.“This record follows them forever and impacts the rest of their lives, a person shouldn’t be crucified after they’ve served their time. There are too many people who tell me they get a job after leaving prison, only to be fired two days later when their conduct sheet is seen.”“Be consistent” – Peppi to Rebecca ButtigiegPeppi went on to point out the “hypocrisy” in Parliamentary Secretary for Equality Rebecca Buttigieg’s statement saying that women in these situations deserve “compassion not courtrooms”.He pointed out her silence on the suffering of other women in Malta at the hands of state systems.“Were you concerned that people were basically tortured in prison – as the Ombudsman report believed – to the point where a woman hung herself because she couldn’t access the drug rehabilitation she asked for?”“Are you concerned that the Cabinet you form part of is sending people back to Libya – where they will be raped and tortured? Do you worry about these people?”He added that 51% of inmates in prison are drug addicts being punished rather than rehabilitated, yet she “hasn’t said a word about it”.“Are you not concerned that victims of drugs are being kept behind bars?”“You’re right to be upset about the suspended sentence, but it seems that you’re only concerned because you want to introduce abortion, not because you’re compassionate,” he added. “Be consistent.”What’s your take on the court’s sentence?•