Category: Malta

Sunday, April 15, 2018, 07:28 by Keith Micallef

A medical professor who had been involved in the drafting of the existing IVF legislation has branded proposed changes to it as “chilling” and “irresponsible”.

University of Malta lecturer Prof. Pierre Schembri Wismayer gave this scathing review when asked for his reaction to the government’s plans from a medical perspective.

In 2012 he had been involved in the consultation held in the run-up to the drafting of the Embryo Protection Act which regulates IVF.

He summed up his assessment of the proposed changes as tantamount to a document prepared over the weekend by somebody high on energy drinks.

“If such proposals were put forward in an exam paper, the candidate would have surely failed,” he said.

Among the proposed changes, embryo freezing and adoption are arguably the most controversial.

Prof. Schembri Wismayer noted that obliging couples who are interested in IVF treatment to give their consent to embryo adoption was probably a first. 

“It is as if they are being blackmailed to give away their own embryos for adoption in case these are not required.”

Adoption, he said, might sound like a good compromise to avoid embryo destruction but in reality such a course of action would open a can of worms.

“No couple will be interested in adopting an embryo. People are being deceived,” he said.

“A gay couple would rather use their own egg or sperm to have half of the baby’s genetic composition rather than adopt an embryo belonging to third parties with no sense of belonging whatsoever,” he added. 

Moreover, he noted that embryologists would be selecting the “best two” embryos out of the permitted five for IVF treatment to have a higher probability of success.

“This means that the rest, which will be frozen, will in actual fact be less healthy embryos. This will further reduce the chance of these embryos being adopted.” 

Regardless, of these considerations, Prof. Schembri Wismayer warned that there would still be the risk of frozen embryos being destroyed, as statistically one in every three dies in the thawing process.

The expert also subscribed to concerns that embryo adoption opened up the possibility, albeit a remote one, of persons being in a relationship with their own siblings without their knowledge.

“Much depends on the safeguards in place to ensure that the same person can only donate sperm or eggs once in their life. In this respect, the Bill says very little on the checks and balances which will be in place,” he says.

Another major concern raised was on the level of screening to be carried out on donors to detect certain hereditary diseases such as thalassemia, which is common in Malta.

“At present tests are carried out on both partners if it transpires that one of them suffers from it, and if they both test positive, their children are highly likely to suffer as well. In this case such screening cannot be carried out since the donor’s identity will be anonymous.  How will these diseases be screened? Will this result in genetic testing?” he questioned.

The Bill also says that when they turn 16, children born from an adopted embryo may check the medical records of the parents in case of serious diseases.

“How will they be able to do so if the records will be kept anonymous?” he asked again.

On the other hand, he argued that banning anonymous donors might then pose the problem of putting off anyone interest in donating their sperm or eggs.

There are also issues over surrogacy in cases where children are born with certain conditions like Downs’ Syndrome. Prof. Schembri Wismayer warns that there have been cases abroad where the prospective parents have refused them.

“Yet, it is being proposed to introduce surrogacy through a legal notice, not even a proper legislation,” he noted.

“IVF is being handled in the most irresponsible manner. This is not some controversy over fuel pump policy. We are dealing with human life here.  The very idea of enacting such a law in just a fortnight is chilling. It beggars belief that such a Bill has been presented in the first place to legislators,” he said.

Ref: https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180415/local/ivf-law-drafter-slams-new-bill-as-chilling.676362?utm_source=tom&utm_campaign=top5&utm_medium=widget

Aħna l‑Maltin għandna għożża għall‑ulied u għall‑ħajja sa mit‑tnissil tagħha. Din hi ħaġa pożittiva ħafna li nixtiequ ninkoraġġixxu bis‑sħiħ. Nuru għalhekk l‑apprezzament tagħna għall‑isforzi li jsiru biex il‑koppji li ma jistgħux ikollhom tfal jingħataw għajnuna xierqa u f’waqtha.

Fl‑istess waqt, hu b’dispjaċir li qrajna emendi proposti għall‑Att dwar il‑Protezzjoni tal‑Embrijuni.

Jidher li l-emendi proposti jmorru kontra l‑għan prinċipali tal‑liġi preżenti, li kien li jassisti koppji li qegħdin f’relazzjoni stabbli biex jista’ jkollhom tarbija. S’issa l‑liġi kienet tipproteġi d‑dinjità tal‑embrijun sa mill‑bidu nett tal‑ħajja umana u tassigura li t‑tarbija titwieled b’omm u b’missier.

Bl‑emendi proposti, dan jispiċċa. It‑tarbija ssir oġġett li qiegħed hemm biss biex jissodisfa x‑xewqa ta’ ħaddieħor. Kull min irid tarbija, hu min hu u hi min hi, jista’ jaħdem biex joħloq waħda, u dan il‑liġi tbierku. Meta l‑liġi tintroduċi l‑possibbiltà ta’ donaturi anonimi taċ-ċelloli għat-tnissil, is‑self tal‑ġuf bis‑surrogazzjoni u l‑iffriżar tal‑embrijuni – dan kollu jagħmel mit‑tarbija oġġett ta’ produzzjoni.

Hu ta’ tħassib serju li b’dawn l‑emendi jista’ jkun hemm tfal li qatt ma jafu min hi l‑omm naturali tagħhom jew il‑missier naturali tagħhom, min huma ħuthom, il‑kuġini, iz‑zijiet u n‑nanniet proprji tagħhom. Il‑liġi l‑ġdida qed toħloq orfni ġodda, u dan bi pjan. Diġà hi sitwazzjoni ta’ uġigħ kbir meta t‑tfal, għal xi raġuni jew oħra, ma jkollhomx il‑grazzja tat‑trobbija minn omm u missier. Imma li liġi toħloq sitwazzjonijiet ġodda bħal dawn, u li tkabbar id‑diskriminazzjoni bejn it‑tfal,  inissel tħassib kbir.

L‑ulied huma għeżież u ma ħaqqhomx hekk. Jistħoqqilhom li jkunu mħarsa fil‑ħtiġijiet fiżiċi, emozzjonali, psikoloġiċi, morali u spiritwali tagħhom. Huma l‑ġenerazzjonijiet futuri li jkollhom jaħsdu dak li qed jinżera’ llum.

Tħassibna ħafna wkoll il-proposta li l-iffriżar tal-embrijuni ser jibda jsir b’għażla. Hemm ħafna problemi etiċi oħra assoċjati ma’ dan fosthom il‑periklu li embrijuni ffriżati jibqgħu ma jiġux adottati għax ma jridhom ħadd. Dawn it‑trabi mnissla mit‑teknoloġija jistgħu — tort tal‑bniedem — qatt ma jaraw id‑dawl.

L‑appell tagħna jmur lejn dawk li għandhom ir‑responsabbiltà għal din il‑liġi biex verament iħarsu l‑ħajja u d‑dinjità umana u ma jagħmlu xejn li jkasbar id‑drittijiet tal‑ulied.

✠ Charles J. Scicluna                                                     ✠ Mario Grech
     Arċisqof ta’ Malta                                                                Isqof ta’ Għawdex

Ref: http://thechurchinmalta.org/mt/posts/76280/stqarrija-tal-isqfijiet-maltin-dwar-l-att-li-jemenda-l-att-dwar-il-protezzjoni-tal-embrijuni

Il-Fondazzjoni favur il-Ħajja u l-Familja, Life Network Foundation Malta, tinsab ferm preokkupata blemendi proposti lill-Att dwar il-Protezzjoni tal-Embrijun u tiġbed l-attenzjoni għas-sitt punti li joħorġu mill emendi:

1. L-istess isem: L-Att dwar il-Protezzjoni tal-Embrijun
Filwaqt li l-isem ta’ dan l-Att baqa’ l-istess, il-liġi preżenti tikkunsidra d-drittijiet tal-ġenituri prospettivi u l-embrijun uman. Fl-abbozz, id-drittijiet tal-ulied li jitwieldu minn din it-teknoloġija la huma ikkunsidrati u lanqas meqjusa.

2. Jidher ċar li hemm logħba fil-lingwaġġ użat u logħba bid-definizzjonijiet. Il-kelma “donazzjoni” – tfisser “att ta ġenerosità li tgħin lil ħaddieħor”, per eżempju – li taghti xi ħaġa, xi oġġett fis-sens ta’ karita, flus, kilwa. F’dan l-abbozziżda, mhux qed nitkellmu dwar ċelloli kwalunkwe iżda gameti – bajda tal-mara u sperma tar-raġel.
Ma’ dawn il-gameti hemm assoċjati obbligazzjonijiet u responsabilitajiet serji ħafna, fosthom ilmaternità u l-paternità. Ħadd ma jista’ jagħmel donazzjoni ta’ maternità u paternità biex joħloq wild li lanqas biss jieħu responsabilità tiegħu jew irid ikun jafu.
Dan l-abbozz jagħmilha legali li wieħed jabdika mir-responsabilitajiet u obbligi dovuti lil kull wild. B’donazzjoni tal-gameti anonima wieħed jiċħad l-ulied li bioloġikament huma tiegħu b’għażla.

3. Il-dinjità u d-drittijiet tal-embrijun uman mhedda Hawn eżempju ċar ta’ kemm il-liġi tagħmel oġġett minn ħajja ġdida fil-bidu tagħha. Aħna nagħtu oġġetti mhux ulied, trabi mhux imwielda jew embrijuni.

• Fl-abbozz insibu li “ġenitur prospettiv” tfisser kwalunkwe persuna irrispettivament millġeneru jew orjentazzjoni sesswali…”
Hawn spiċċa l-kunċett li t-tarbija għandha dritt ikollha omm u missier u li kemm jista’ jkun, tkun taf lill-ġenituri bioloġiċi tagħha u titrabba minnhom, dritt li nsibuh ukoll fil-Konvenzjoni tad-Drittijiet tat Tfal.
• Iddaħħal il-kunċett ta’ single mothers by choice u unknown fathers by choice kif ukoll
posthumous conception L-aħjar interessi tat-tfal huma injorati għal kollox. Fejn qabel din kienet u għadha problema soċjali li l-gvern għaliha jipprovdi l-għajnuna, issa ser issir għażla! Inoltre, dan ifisser li l-materjal ġenetiku ser ikun jista’ jintuża wara l-mewt ta’ xi ġenitur.
• Il-kliem “omm”, “missier” jew “koppja mara u raġel” huma eliminati u minflok iddaħħlu
ġenitur/ġenituri prospettivi meta huwa fatt bioloġiku li biex tinħoloq ħajja ġdida għandek
bżonn tal-isperma tar-raġel u l-bajda tal-mara.
• Il-kelma “embrijun” hija ħafna drabi sostitwita mill-kliem “bajda fertilizzata”.
Din hi logħba bil-kliem. Fix-xjenza nsibu “bajda” u “sperma”. Malli l-bajda tiġi fertilizzata ma tibqax tissejjaħ bajda għaliex issa saret entità ġdida, organiżmu ġdid.
Ħadd ma jaddotta bajd fertilizzat. Jaddottaw embrijuni umani. Meta nużaw il-kelma “bajda
fertilizzata” nkunu qed nippruvaw innaqqsu valur minn dan il-ħolqien ġdid, tarbija, tifel jew tifla.
L-embrijun mhux oġġett imma ħajja ġdida. Min jirrikorri għall-IVF, ikollu embrijuni trasferiti fil-ġuf, mhux oġġetti. Ma jitwildux oġġetti iżda tfal.

4. Embryo cryo-preservation (freezing) huwa ppreżentat bħala għażla u mhux eċċezzjoni lill ġenituri prospettivi. Hemm attentat biex jidher li dan ser isir fl-aħjar interess tagħhom meta huwa tant evidenti li dan mhux il-każ. L-iffriżar ser jiddaħħal biex jagħmel oġġett mill-embrijun fil-maġġor parti tal-każijiet. Ser jirriżulta f’għażla ta l-ahjar embrijuni u ‘stockpiles’ ta’ “surplus embryos”. Ħajjithom titpoġġa f‘futur inċert u riskjuż. Ma jitħallewx ikomplu jgħixu, jistgħu jagħmlu snin fil-friża bir-riskju li ħafna jitilfu ħajjithom. U dan biex ngħidu li kull min jixtieq tarbija issa ser naghtuh ċans.

5. Anonymous gamete donation tidħol b’emenda ta’ żewġ kelmiet –Insibu fl-Art. 3(a) tal-abbozz: “prokreazzjoni assistita b’mod mediku u donazzjoni ta’ gameti” Dan meta nafu kemm hemm problemi etiċi assoċjati ma’ din il-prattika. It-tfal għandhom dritt ikunu jafu l-identità taghhom, il-ġenetika tagħhom, l-istorja tagħhom. Tfal li twieldu minn din il-prattika
jitkellmu u jgħidu kemm iħossuhom imweġġa’ li d-drittijiet tagħhom huma injorati.
Fl-Ingilterra, donor-concieved Joanna Rose fetħet kawża li rebħet u sussegwentement, id-donazzjoni anonima tal-bajda u l-isperma fl-Ingilterra saru pprojbiti. U aħna Malta nħossuna li nistgħu ninjoraw id-dritt tat-tfal li jitwieldu minn dawn il-prattiċi.
Reġistru li huwa marbut b’anonimità u li jagħti biss informazzjoni medika jekk ikun il-każ, mhux ta’għajnuna ghal dawn it-tfal u l-mistoqsija dwar l-identità tagħhom. Kif ser ikunu jafu li għandhom ħuthom fil-każ ta’ ġuvni jew tfajla li jagħtu donazzjoni u wara jkollhom l-ulied bioloġiċi tagħhom?

6. Dekriminalizazzjoni ta’ surrogacy altruistika
Dan il-kunċett huwa ġdid – tarbija tinġarr fil-ġuf ta’ mara li ma tkunx ser trabbi t-tarbija. Din tagħti ttarbija lil min ikun ser irabbiha kif titwieled. Ix-xjenza tgħallimna li l-bonding mal-omm bioloġika tibda malli t-tarbija tibda tikber fil-ġuf . It-tarbija fil-ġuf ta’ ommha tħoss l-emozzjonijiet tal-omm u tagħraf leħinha. Is-surrogacy iċċaħħad lit-tarbija minn dan, fost affarijiet oħra. Il-kunċett ta’ surrogacy jagħmel ukoll mill-mara surrogata oġġett. Il-movimenti feministi ma jaqblux ma dan.

7. Kawżi legali – hemm l-impressjoni li l-Awtorità ser issolvi l-problemi etiċi u legali kollha li
ser joħloq dan l-abbozz. X’ser jiġri fil-każijiet ta’ separazzjoni u kwistjonijiet ta’ ownership talembrijuni? Kif jidher, l-emendi proposti jinjoraw kompletament id-drittijiet tat-tfal li jitwieldu minn din it-teknoloġija, filwaqt li joħolqu problemi etiċi u legali għall-ġenituri prospettivi.

Dr Miriam Sciberras BChD (Hons) MA Bioethics
Chairman Life Network Foundation Malta
www.staging-lifenetwork.stagingcloud.co

Being the PRO of the Ministry for European Affairs and Equality, the over-reaction of Paula Cauchi to the stand of the Times of Malta in defending marriage and the family is predictable.

What is also predictable is her use of ridiculous slogans such as reactionary and populist so as to denigrate fundamental values that the Times of Malta rightly defends.

Quite probably, the government is irked by the fact that this newspaper is alert and able to expose its dishonest and Machiavellian tactics in order to curry favour with the LGBTIQ lobby. The concluding statement in the editorial of February 6 says that a government should administer for the common good and not for interest groups that could keep it in power. It hits the nail on the head and says it all.

Also, no doubt the editorial (March 26) referring to Helena Dalli’s behaviour at the UN where she bragged about fooling the electorate over the intended implications of equality, must be doubly galling. The editorial exposes changes being imposed top downwards on an unsuspecting and indolent electorate is anything but democratic and in the country’s interest.

No amount of statistics and high-sounding words can change the truth about man and woman. Neither the Labour Party nor the Nationalist Party created the reality that the human family is based on the free and responsible commitment of a man and a woman to live together in a relationship open to life.

By their very nature, homosexual relationships are sterile, so any claims to equality are totally misplaced. Lesbian or homosexual acts can never be equivalent to sexual activity between a man and woman.

As written in a brilliant essay on ‘Gay Marriage’ published in the New Oxford Review in 2012, Monica Migliorino Miller said: “Legal recognition of homosexual bonds as marital bonds ultimately means that gender, human sexuality, being a husband or a wife, motherhood and fatherhood have no objective moral meaning.

“This also means that the family itself has no objective moral meaning. The moral law rooted in nature is completely dissolved. There would no longer be any natural familial moral bonds, thus no longer any natural moral ties and thus no innate moral responsibilities arising from the very nature of the family.”

Sadly, the state we are in is rooted in the trivialisation of sex initiated by the culture of contraception over 50 years ago that has led to rampant promiscuity, widespread infidelity, the general lowering of morality and the loss of respect for women fuelled by pornography that has reduced them to being treated as glorified soft toys, instruments of selfish enjoyment rather than as beloved companions.

The fact that more and more people endorse the current state of affairs and that all our MPs with the solitary principled exception of Edwin Vassallo voted in favour of the so called ‘equality’ agenda, does not change the truth by one iota.

Cauchi, in a cheap attempt to mock the truth, chose to quote Marine Le Pen who rightly echoed timeless realities when she warned that any law on same-sex marriage would “undermine the very foundations of our civilisation and the structures that protect family life”.

The not-so-subtle orchestrated campaign to introduce abortion follows the same deceitful pattern adopted on ‘gay rights’. The introduction of the abortive morning-after pill under the guise of it being falsely portrayed as a contraceptive is a case in point.

The loyal readers of the Times of Malta thank it for its repeated editorial stand in its spirited defence of the common good by defending life and the family, the institution that is the only guarantor of freedom and democracy.

Il-Fondazzjoni favur il-Ħajja u l-Familja, Life Network Foundation Malta qalet li fl-emendi fl-Att dwar il-Protezzjoni tal-Embrijun li ġew ippubblikati lbieraħ “jidher ċar li hemm logħba fil-lingwaġġ użat u logħba bid-definizzjonijiet”.

Fost l-oħrajn l-emendi ppreżentati mill-Gvern qed jittrattaw il-kiri tal-ġuf u l-iffriżar tal-embrijuni.

Dwar id-donazzjoni tal-isperma u l-bajda, iċ-Chairperson tal-Life Network Foundation Dr Miriam Sciberras saħqet li il-Gvern qed jilgħab bil-lingwaġġ użatt u qed jagħmel “logħba bid-definizzjonijiet”.

Saħqet li dan l-abbozz qed jagħmilha legali li wieħed jabdika mir-responsabilitajiet u obbligi dovuti lil kull wild minħabba li b’donazzjoni tal-gameti anonima (bajda tal-mara u sperma tar-raġel) wieħed jiċħad l-ulied li bioloġikament huma tiegħu b’għażla.

Ir-reazzjoni titkellem ukoll dwar il-kliem “omm”, “missier” jew “koppja mara u raġel” li ġew eliminati u minflok iddaħħlu ġenitur/ġenituri prospettivi meta huwa fatt bioloġiku li biex tinħoloq ħajja ġdida għandek bżonn l-isperma tar-raġel u l-bajda tal-mara.

“L-embrijun mhux oġġett imma ħajja ġdida”

Dr Miriam Sciberras li hija ggradwata fil-Bioetika u magħrufa għax-xogħol tagħha favur il-ħajja, spjegat ukoll li min jirrikorri għall-IVF, ikollu embrijuni trasferiti fil-ġuf u mhux oġġetti u għaldaqstant ma jitwildux oġġetti iżda tfal.

Il-Fondazzjoni qalet ukoll li d-drittijiet tal-ulied li jitwieldu minn din it-teknoloġija la huma ikkunsidrati u lanqas meqjusa.

Tista’ taqra r-reazzjoni sħiħa hawnhekk:

 

We are witnessing a new form of ‘feminism’ in the name of emancipating women: the ‘right’ of a pregnant woman to carry out an abortion.

Without beating round the bush, without resorting to any euphemism, we must call this so-called ‘right’ what it actually is: the killing of life conceived in her womb. They are placing in a tug-of-war the pseudo-emancipation of women and the right to life of the person not yet born.

We have to suffer hearing the words of a number of today’s false prophets, misleading contemporary activists, militant and eager to promote powerful propaganda advocating abortion and placing huge pressure on governments to legislate this type of killing.

Among them I mention the multi-millionaire George Soros, who is spending enormous amounts of money in pro-abortion propaganda, and Nils Muiznieks, who ironically is the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe.

In his writings, Muiznieks reiterated that: “Particular attention should be paid to the most vulnerable groups of people, such as children.” It seems that the child in the mother’s womb, according to him, does not belong to the category of the “most vulnerable groups of people” and children.

Today, we talk about what is termed peer pressure: the influence exerted, for example, by young people’s friends being more influential than that of their parents.

I will explain myself. When The Netherlands introduced ‘gay marriage’ it was presented as a sign of being an emancipated country. After The Netherlands, other countries were encouraged to do so (not to look less emancipated than neighbouring countries). The same thing happens in the case of the legalisation of abortion.

First, they portray as retrograde a country that does not accept abortion. Then, it is accepted in “extreme” and “exceptional” cases. Then, the door is always opened even further for other cases.

It is an undisputed fact that life starts at fertilisation. Therefore, when discussing abortion, the question is between the so-called right of the pregnant woman for her personal autonomy and the right to life of the unborn child.

Countries that legalise abortion establish certain limits: till what stage of the pregnancy is abortion legalised? In Albania, it is permitted up to the 12th week of pregnancy. Other countries accept abortion later in the pregnancy and others earlier.

However, it is here that we notice the absurdity of abortion legislation.

If it is not allowed after that time frame, why is it allowed before? Maybe because the foetus is small?

Does that mean that because the foetus is small it has no right to life? Or does it mean that, because it is small, it is less of a human being than an adolescent human being?

Does this imply that the right to life depends on how old one is?

Is it, thus, that an old man has greater right than an adult, an adult more than a youth, a youth more than a boy, a boy more than a baby, and a baby more than a foetus and a foetus of a few months more than a foetus of a few days?

When, the media showed us the lifeless body of a boy less than two years old lying on the sand on a beach of an island near Greece, everyone pitied him.

And when people drown in the Mediterranean Sea and the media tells us with great prominence how many children were among them, no one says: “It does not matter! Those are children!” On the contrary, we pity them even more.

Why is this? Is it because we felt they had a future ahead of them and they have now lost it? And why do we not say the same thing for the foetus who is being targeted for abortion?

Why do we not say: he has a future ahead of him, let us not rob him of his life?

The sin of the Pharisee was that he did not realise he was a sinner.

The sin of today’s society is that it does not want to be aware of its sinfulness when it opens the door for the elimination of lives yet unborn.

After the barbaric killing of a two-year-old by two children aged 10 in Liverpool in 1993, the late Cardinal Basil Hume and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks suggested the setting up of a royal commission to investigate the causes of increased criminality in their country. However, their request went unheeded.

In an interview to the English newspaper The Independent, Cardinal Hume said: “When a society looks at the mirror and does not like what it sees, it either shrugs its shoulders and walks away or pauses and asks: ‘why.”

This is the sin of today’s society; it refuses to open its eyes to wrongs and even when it recognises it is in the wrong, it is not prepared to ask why.

Mgr Ġorġ Frendo is Bishop of Tirana, Albania.

One need not be a discerning political observer to recognise that the groundwork for the legalisation of abortion is being firmly laid, notwithstanding reassurances to the contrary.

“Abortion is not on the agenda” is evidently doublespeak for “lower your guard while we prepare to legalise abortion by stealth”.  The debate has, in the first place, been instigated by various kite-flying techniques. The cause has already been championed by none other than the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Foundation for Women’s Rights.

Efforts are being made to acclimatise the electorate to “acceptable” destruction of life, such as the introduction of abortive morning-after pills, with freezing and disposal of embryos being next in line. Legal protection of the unborn has been weakened by deletion of any reference to the unborn in the Domestic Violence Bill and will predictably be further weakened by amendments to the Embryo Protection Act.

Pro-abortion campaigners use all sorts of stratagems and euphemisms in an attempt to camouflage the stark reality of abortion; it is murder of the unborn child, wilful destruction of the vulnerable who are unable to voice their pain and to defend themselves. Pro-abortion discourse systematically ‘de-personalises’ the embryo, relegating it to a bunch of cells in order to render its destruction less despicable.

Any competent embryologist will however attest to the fact that an embryo is not a mere bunch of cells. Any mother who has miscarried, grieves her unborn child and not a bunch of cells within. Any ultrasound machine which echoes the heartbeat of the unborn child to anxious parents is confirming human life at inception.

We all started off our lives as embryos, the Human Rights Commissioner included. Only a few months separate the embryo from the crying, loving, vulnerable infant that is placed in her mother’s arms a couple of minutes after birth.

Abortion necessarily entails the stoppage of a heartbeat, sometimes the tearing of organs, the crushing of bones, undoubtedly the destruction of life. This notwithstanding, it is reframed as a human rights issue, a women’s rights issue, an equality issue, an autonomy issue, anything other than what it really is; murder of the innocent and the vulnerable.

Let there be no doubt. There exists no fundamental human right to abortion. The European Convention of Human Rights does not refer to any fundamental right to abortion, the European Court of Human Rights never expressed itself to this effect.

Another argument propounded by the pro-abortionists is the “regulatory” argument. Abortion is already a reality, it is argued. Accordingly, in lieu of clandestine abortions, it is better to “regulate” abortion, thereby ensuring that it is carried out in a safe, controlled environment. The destruction of life is wrong whether it takes place openly or clandestinely. By the same token let us have ‘safe’ capital punishment, let us regulate cock fighting, let us sanitise clandestine wrongdoings by transferring them to the public arena.   

The “extreme circumstance” argument ordinarily ushers the point of entry of legalised abortion. Let us introduce abortion in the case of rape, it is argued. Rape is a horrendous crime and a rape victim needs all the support that society could give. But abortion is not the solution.

Legalising abortion in case of rape is meting out the death sentence to one of the innocent victims of the crime. Likewise, situations where mother’s life is at risk are invoked as pretexts for the legalisation of abortion. Faced with life-threatening conditions to mother or child, doctors will do their utmost to save both. Medical protocols are already in existence to cater for the rare cases where a choice is inevitable.    

Pro-life activists should carefully resist the trap set by pro-abortionists to frame the issue as a mother-versus-child issue. We should strive to put in place all the necessary support structures for women facing difficult decisions. The 24/7 Life Line Support chat line recently introduced by the Life Network is a laudable initiative.

If the government is seriously pro-women and pro-life it should follow suit. Mothers and unborn children are both victims of abortion. Both deserve support and compassion. Vulnerable mothers are often hoodwinked to believe that abortion is a straightforward surgical intervention that leaves no lasting effects. The truth is otherwise.

The fact is that pro-‘choicers’ are not defenders of women. They are, consciously or unconsciously, defenders of abortion. 

The dignity of life is not measured or valued in terms of its stage of development, its state of health or illness, the extent of its autonomy or dependability. Life is a precious gift. Let us treasure it.

My sincere appeal goes to all those who are in a position of influence, particularly members of Parliament. Do not be complicit, whether by commission or omission, in the murder of the unborn. As the spectre of legalised abortion draws closer to our shores let us stand up and be compassionately pro-life.

Arthur Galea Salomone is president of the Cana Movement.

The notion of reforming something generally denotes betterment, not regression. In countries governed by dictators, reform normally refers to the end of dictatorship and the beginning of democracy. Indeed, to refer to the reverse as being reform would constitute gross misuse of the word and abuse of the spirit of reform.

Maltese law currently leaves no stone unturned in its effort to protect life in all its stages. Various laws, including the Constitution, the European Convention Act, the Civil Code, the Embryo Protection Act, the Criminal Code and the Domestic Violence Act (as they currently stand), reaffirm and reinforce the inviolability of human life. Rightly, the act of injuring or of taking life is met with punishment. Since law exists to regulate human relationships, one can say that the very fact that laws exist can be taken to mean that the most basic function of law is to protect human life.

Over decades, Malta’s social policy has developed advanced and integrated social services that help people in difficult situations. This safety net carries out the State’s duty to care for its citizens, as opposed to the limited notion of a State whose sole duty is to protect its external borders. The safety net allows those who fall on hard times to turn to the State for help in order to be able to get back on their feet.

The Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe recently saw fit to try to bully Malta into introducing abortion: we must reform our laws in order to be in line with our fellow Council of Europe Member States. According to Nils Muiznieks, extending the protection of law to the first nine months of human life is a violation of human rights.

As a lawyer, that strikes me as rather bizarre logic. How can it be contrary to human rights to protect the life of the youngest humans? It follows logically that amending our laws to allow the killing of children does not constitute reform, but regression. Introducing abortion would do a fantastic job of taking Malta to the Stone Age. The only thing left for us to do would be to start sacrificing children to false gods at Ħaġar Qim.

Muiznieks’ statement that parties to the European Convention on Human Rights have a human rights-based obligation to allow abortion is wrong. In various cases involving the beginning of human life and the recognition of parentage, the Court has repeatedly ruled that countries enjoy wide discretion, a “wide margin of appreciation”, in defining such matters. The Court essentially stated that the matter of when life begins is not within its competence to decide.

Muiznieks himself admits that the only times the Court ruled in favour of abortion was when it ruled on cases where it was already legal in the country in question. However, nowhere has the Court ever said that a country that did not allow abortion was acting in violation of human rights. In any case, were the Court ever to say that, it would be plain wrong.

In view of Muiznieks’ misinformed denial of a prenatal right to life, it is opportune to refer to the Declaration on the Rights of the Child (1959), which served as a basis for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). The preamble to the declaration states that “the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth”.

Muiznieks also confuses the concept of abortion with the notion of care. One can refer to care either in the medical sense of healthcare or in the simpler sense of one person caring for, or showing genuine concern, for another person. The introduction of abortion, which Muiznieks is so eager to see, fits neither the medical sense nor the personal notion of care and concern.

Medically, one refers to the Hippocratic oath, which obliges physicians to do no harm. If killing a pre-born child does not classify as harm, then I honestly do not know what does.

The second sense of the word ‘care’ can easily depict the mother or the father caring for their son or daughter. Alternatively, it can refer to a friend supporting a mother going through an unplanned pregnancy in such a way as to reassure her that there is always hope, and killing the baby is not necessary.

If one truly cares about someone, one does not kill the person one cares about. Caring and killing are mutually exclusive. Since Muiznieks does not question the humanity of babies, it is puzzling that he can refer to abortion – which results in the death of a child – as care.

Maltese law on abortion needs no reform. The only reform Maltese society needs is to accompany people in difficult situations with greater love and compassion. Of their nature, authentic love and authentic compassion affirm life, not destroy it. This is what Maltese society should aspire to.

Ramon Bonett Sladden is a lawyer.