Abortion Pill Artwork Censored by Malta Biennale Art Festival
For immediate release: March 10, 2026
Women on Waves, a non-profit organisation providing help and information on safe abortion in restrictive settings, has been invited to participate in the Malta Biennale international arts festival. However, the Biennale curational team is now censoring Women on Waves’ artwork about accessing the abortion pill by removing the work today from the exhibition venue at the Malta Maritime Museum at the eleventh hour, with the exhibition scheduled to open tonight. We are not allowed to film the removal of the banners.
Malta remains the only European Union (EU) country to maintain a near-total ban on abortion. Despite the ban, every year approximately 600 women in Malta use the abortion pills.[1]
The artwork reads, “Need Abortion Pills?” in English and Maltese. At the request of the Malta Biennale, the banner was changed to say, “Do You Need A Safe Abortion?” with the word “Pills” crossed out. However, yesterday afternoon, Women on Waves was informed by the Biennale that these changes were “not suitable”. To cover up the censorship, the Malta Biennale requested the production of a new banner.
This morning, the Biennale stated that the artwork will be removed by the curatorial, newly claiming that the work does not meet “minimum aesthetic quality standards to be shown in an international biennale.”
Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, founder of Women on Waves, replied, “There is nothing uglier than censorship. Abortion with medication is the only safe method available to Maltese women. By censoring the word ‘Pills’, the Biennale is harming these women by withholding critical health information pertaining to their health. This violates women’s right to scientific information and our right to expression and free speech.” (Article 10 ECHR)
As stated in a legal analysis provided to the Biennale leadership at their request in January 2026 by Maltese lawyer, Emma Portelli-Bonnici,
“When lawful artistic expression is restricted within such [art] spaces, the harm extends beyond the individual artist or organisation affected and reaches the integrity of the cultural sphere itself… Cultural expression is not ancillary to democratic life but an essential component of it.”
Women on Waves remains committed to supporting Maltese women in need of safe abortion care.
As recent as December 2025, the European Parliament once again confirmed that access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including safe, universally accessible and legal abortion care, is a fundamental right; [2] In 2023, a Joint Ministerial Declaration called on the EU institutions and Member States to ensure “access to safe and legal abortion and to post abortion care by removing barriers that hinder its exercise.”[3]
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Federation of Gynaecologists (FIGO) support the use of telemedicine abortion services and self-managed abortions which are proven to be safe and effective.[4] [5]
For contact, please call, +31652052561
For more information about how to get an abortion in Malta, please contact the Abortion Doula Support Service at +35620341683 or +356 27782758.
- https://www.abortiondoulamalta.com
- https://www.voiceforchoice.mt/get-an-abortion
- https://www.doctorsforchoice.mt/abortion-doula-support-service
[1] https://www.doctorsforchoice.mt/post/rising-demand-for-abortion-pills-in-2025-highlights-need-for-legal-reforms-in-malta
[2] European Parliament Resolution of 17 December 2025 on the European citizens’ initiative entitled ‘My Voice, My Choice: For Safe and Accessible Abortion’ https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2025-0338_EN.html
[3] https://www.igualdad.gob.es/wp-content/uploads/SRHR-MINISTERIAL-DECLARATION-SIGNED.pdf
[4] https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-SRH-22.1
[5] https://www.figo.org/FIGO-endorses-telemedicine-abortion-services
