Apart from using abortion pills, the other main way women in Malta have abortions is by travelling to clinics abroad. This usually involves the following:
- Identifying appropriate countries and clinics.
- Contacting clinics and agreeing appointment dates and prices.
- Booking flights and accommodation.
If you are going to travel, you will probably want to opt for a surgical abortion, which is a straightforward procedure with a rapid recovery in most cases.
For pregnancies under 14 weeks, it is usually performed by inserting a small tube into the uterus through the vagina, and sucking out the pregnancy in a procedure called vacuum aspiration. This can be done under a local anaesthetic, with a light sedative if you need it, and you will be discharged from the clinic after a few hours. Clinic costs for vacuum aspiration are usually around EUR 800.
For pregnancies over 14 weeks, a surgical abortion is usually performed by dilation and evacuation (D&E). For this procedure you normally have to attend clinic the day before for cervical preparation, and on the day on the procedure you will receive a general anaesthetic. The procedure involves dilating (opening up) the cervix and removing the pregnancy with forceps and gentle suction. For this procedure you normally have to stay at the clinic for a whole day, and sometimes you have to stay overnight. The clinic costs for D&E are usually over EUR 1,500.
Choosing a Country
Your choice of country to travel to will depend on two main factors: the abortion law in that country and your travel documents.
Most EU countries, with notable exceptions of Poland and Malta, allow abortion on demand in the first trimester of pregnancy. The United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands have particularly progressive abortion laws and they allow second trimester abortions as well (up to 24 weeks in the UK and up to 22-23 weeks in the Netherlands). The UK has no limit at all in cases where the fetus has a severe anomaly.
The abortion limit in Spain is 14 weeks, and in Italy it is 90 days (between 12 and 13 weeks). Be careful about people who offer an abortion in Sicily. There have been reports of women who paid several thousand Euro for an abortion in Sicily and have concerns about the quality of care they received.
If you live in Malta, you are likely to be either an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen, or a third country national on a Schengen Short Stay Visa (category C) or a Maltese Long Stay Visa (category D). All of these allow you to travel to Schengen countries without needing additional paperwork. These are the countries that currently form part of the Schengen area: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The most notable omission from this list is the United Kingdom, which is not part of the Schengen zone. The UK has its own list of nationalities that do not need a visa to enter. Maltese and other EU citizens do not need a visa to enter the UK, but from October 2021 they will no longer be able to enter with an ID card and will need a valid passport. You can check whether you need a UK visa here:
https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa
Choosing a Clinic
The next step is to choose a clinic that will provide abortion services to you. The following is a list of clinics in England, the Netherlands, and Spain, that offer abortion services to women from Malta. These clinics work with
Abortion Support Network if you need help paying for your abortion. Most of these clinics are located near airports and some will even provide you with a taxi service.
ENGLAND
(Important: From October 2021, you will need a valid passport to enter the UK.)
NUPASTel: +44 1614 872 660
THE NETHERLANDS
(Schengen country: Maltese ID Card or Maltese Residence Permit are sufficient for travel).
Vrelinghuis Utrecht (Closest airport: Amsterdam)
Stichting Abortuskliniek Amsterdam (Closest airport: Amsterdam)
Bloemenhove in Heemstede (Closest airport: Amsterdam)
SPAIN
(Schengen country: Maltese ID Card or Maltese Residence Permit are sufficient for travel).
Note: The abortion limit in Spain is 14 weeks, which is significantly lower than that of the UK or Netherlands.
Ginesur, Clínica Algeciras/Campo De Gibraltar
C/ Juan González, 3, 11204 Algeciras
Tel: +34 956 61 24 65
Web:
https://ginesur.com/
Ginesur, Clínica Málaga Centro Medico
C/ Andalucía nº 18 29009, Malaga
Tel: +34 952 39 22 22
Web:
https://ginesur.com/
Book Flights and Accommodation
After you have contacted an abortion clinic, made sure that they can offer the service you need, and arranged an appointment and time, you will need to book flights and accommodation. If you are less than 14 weeks pregnant and are going to have a vacuum aspiration, you can expect to be in the clinic for 3-4 hours. Recovery is usually rapid because no general anaesthetic is needed. If you are more than 14 weeks pregnant and are going to have a dilation and evacuation, you will need to attend the clinic a day before the procedure for cervical preparation. On the day of the procedure you can expect to be at the clinic for a whole day. You may also be asked to stay at the clinic overnight for observation. Keep this in mind when deciding how long to book accommodation for.
Before you go, make sure you know your own medical history, your current medications (if any), and your drug allergies (if any). Remember that abortion clinics abroad will not have access to your medical record in Malta. You should also travel with someone you trust, whenever possible.
Children are not allowed in abortion clinics, so if you have young children you will need to arrange for childcare either in Malta or abroad.