Malta govt backs down on abortion bill after protests

FILE PHOTO: People gather outside the Auberge de Castille, the office of the Prime Minister, to protest against government plans to introduce a law that they view as opening the door to abortion in the only European Union country which does not permit it under any circumstances, in Valletta, Malta December 4, 2022. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo

VALLETTA (Reuters) - Malta's government on Friday backed down on a bill which would have allowed the abortion of pregnancies when the mother's health was at serious risk, saying instead that terminations would only be allowed when the mother's life was in danger.

Malta is the only country in the European Union which does not allow any form of termination, and the original bill had raised a storm of protest, with anti-abortion campaigners saying the definition of what constituted a health risk was too wide.