Labour MP Michael Farrugia said today that IVF services should be available to married couples and those who are officially cohabiting.

Writing in The Times, Dr Farrugia, who is a medical practitioner and sat on the parliamentary select committee which discussed assisted procreation and embryo freezing, noted that the committee, which had reached its conclusions before the divorce referendum, had said that IVF should be available for couples in a stable relationship.

In view of changed circumstances, Dr Farrugia said that he no longer stood by the Select Committee's unanimous definition of 'stable relationship'. (The committee had defined stable relationship as married people and unmarried people where it was proved, such as through medical records, that their relationship was stable).

"Once Malta seems likely to have divorce and cohabitation laws in the near future, the definition of stable relationship should change to include couples in marriage or officially cohabiting," Dr Farrugia said.

He added, however, that there was a grey area which MPs have to look into: the  minimum four-year period  for a separated couple to be eligible for divorce. "If, during that time the couples were in a stable relationship, what would be their position on IVF?"

Dr Farrugia said he supported the unanimous position adopted by the select committee last year which had recommended that IVF be available on the national health service and that that the law should allow embryo freezing as a medical option. The committee also recommended counselling to couples, the setting up of a regulatory authority and a mechanism for the adoption of unclaimed frozen embryos.