Three PN MPs Vote Against Genetic Testing Of Embryos But Law Passes Easily
PN MPs Adrian Delia, Alex Borg and Ivan Bartolo broke ranks with their party and voted against an IVF bill that legalises the genetic testing of embryos for certain serious hereditary conditions.
However, the bill passed easily, with 66 MPs – from both Government and Opposition – voting in favour.
Before casting his vote, Delia said he is opposing the bill because he is “pro-life from its very beginning until its natural end”.
“A law that allows IVF is pro-life, a law that allows polar body testing on oocytes is pro-life, but a law that allows genetic testing on embryos – with 20% of all embryos getting destroyed in the process – is anti-life,” he said.
“It goes against the Embryo Protection Act, it goes against the Constitution and ultimately it goes against my conscience and beliefs, which is why I am voting against it.”
PN MP and health spokesperson Stephen Spiteri said that while he respects Delia’s opinion, the PN is in favour of the bill as it will create more lives.
He also noted that the Opposition successfully included amendments to the bill, which will enshrine polar body testing in the law, grant parents informed consent, and ensure a legal notice is published whenever the protocol changes.
Malta’s new IVF law has introduced the concept of PGT-M, allowing prospective parents with a history of the hereditary disease to screen their embryos prior to implantation.
While the likes of the UK utilise this same technology to scan embryos for hundreds of conditions, including Down’s Syndrome, cystic fibrosis and Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, Malta will initially limit it to nine serious monogenic disorders, including gangliosidosis and Huntington’s Disease.
However, the nine disorders aren’t laid out in the law but in a protocol issued by the Embryo Protection Authority, which will be able to update the list if it receives a request by a PGT-M clinic on behalf of a prospective parent.
Embryos found with one of these conditions will be cryopreserved and will be offered to the parents or put up for adoption if and when an effective treatment is found.
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