Criminal Code (Cap. 9), article 243B

243B. No offence under sub-article (2 ) of article 241 or article 243 shall be committed when the cessa tion of a pregnancy or damage to the foetus results from a medical intervention carried out for the purpose of saving the life and protecting the health of a pregnant woman s uffering from a medical complication which may put her life at immediate risk or her health in grave jeopardy which may lead to death: Provided that the exemption from criminal responsibility by virtue of this article shall apply only when after having consi dered the medical practices current in Ma lta circumstances of necessity s till subsist which dictate that the medical intervention be carried out and if the following conditions are fulfilled: (a) in the case of a pregnant woman suffering from a medical complication which may put her life at immediate risk CRIMINAL CODE [CAP. 9. 125 the medical intervention is done when in the reasonable opinion of the medical practitioner carrying out the intervention the foetus has not reached the period of viability; or (b) in the case of a medical intervention carried out due to a medical complication which places the health of a pregnant woman in grave jeopa rdy which may lead to death: (i) that in the reasonable opinion of the medical team the foetus has not reached the period of viability and cannot be delivered according to the standards of the medical profession; and (ii) that the medical intervention is carried out only after the medical team has confirmed the necessity of the intervention; and (iii) that the medical intervention is carried out in a licensed hospital having the facilities required for the necessary medical intervention to be carried out; (c) for the purposes of this article: Cap. 464. "medical team" means three (3) medical practitioners registered as specialists with the Medical Council under the Health Care Professions Act , two (2) of whom being obstetricians o r gynaecologists, one (1) of whom being the obstetrician who carries out the intervention, and the third medical practitioner being a specialist in the condition from which the pregnant woman is suffering; "period of viability" means the point in a pregnancy at which the foetus is capable of living outside the uterus according to current medical practices. Administering or causing others to take substances injurious to health. Amended by: XLIX.1981.4.