IVF law: good or bad?
The strangest thing about the use of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in Malta is that it has remained unregulated for some 20 years. Seen in this light, the Bill launched by the government – rather strangely entitled the ‘Embryo Protection Bill’ – should at first glance be seen in a good light.
IVF is a complicated subject, but it impinges on many people’s lives in one way or another.
Principally, it affects couples who want to have children and for whatever reason are unable to conceive. They quite often are so desperate for a solution that they are driven to distraction. For them, the possibility of IVF is a godsend.
However, to date it has been an expensive option since the procedure is only currently available privately. And the costs involved – given the complex nature of the technique – have inevitably been high.
The new legislation will make it possible for practically all couples who meet specified criteria to make use of IVF, since it will be available on the national health service at Mater Dei Hospital.
However, the use of IVF also interests the wider community, including the Church and ethicists.
Malta’s bishops have taken a somewhat blanket approach, saying that while the procedure appears to be a “service of life”, it is actually a “threat”.
While there are extremely valid concerns over the practice, this statement seems too unequivocal, especially given that it is being made at a time when the government is seeking to place a practice that already takes place in Malta within a legal framework.
Of course, the Church did not stop there. It went on to condemn embryo freezing – which it seems the new law will prohibit save for the most extreme circumstances – as well as the general destruction of embryos in the IVF process.
The proposed legislation seems to have made an attempt to address the latter concern by limiting the number of fertilised eggs to two per cycle, though this has drawn criticism from medical circles who have suggested that such a cap drastically reduces the chances of pregnancy.
According to one doctor and former chairman of the Bioethics Consultative Committee, Prof. Maurice Cauchi, the consensus among ethicists is that the practice is acceptable as long as the sperm and egg are obtained from the potential parents and not from third parties.
However, there is concern over embryo destruction and genetic selection techniques.
It is of paramount importance at this juncture that all voices are heard to ensure that the legislation is as ethically acceptable and workable as possible. People on both sides of the fence should try not to get lost in emotional argument. A good solution is what counts.
Crazy road signs
Transport Malta has broken with years of practice and decreed that all place names on new road signs should now be in Maltese.
This is not only incomprehensible, but leads to ludicrous situations. Since there are not even English equivalents, how is a visitor supposed to know how to get to San Pawl il-Baħar when he knows it as St Paul’s Bay, or Raħal Ġdid when he knows it as Paola, or Il-Port tal-Imġarr when he knows it as the harbour? This list of can go on and on.
If the object was to waste money on signs that will only confuse visitors, full marks. However, as if the roads and roadworks were not already enough to contend with, nil points for common sense.
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Gerry Cowie
Jul 30th 2012, 10:42
Mr Kurt Waschnig of Germany fails to tell us his qualification in respect of all the knowledge he is so keen to impart to us, nor why he is going to such great lengths to educate us as the processs involved.
He also manages to leave out a most important statistic - which is that up to 80% of embryos implanted into the womb subsequently die.
Gerry Cowie
Jul 30th 2012, 09:42
There is nothing strange about embryo protection. It makes utter sense. It is a world first for Malta to recognise the sanctity of human life from conception in this way whilst most of the rest of the world. Those who do not agree that life begins at conception, for their own reasons, will not agree that a human being requires any protection until after birth. Those who claim to be humanists will not accept it because, despite being in favour of humanity seem to be against it at one and the same time since they also cannot agree to the concept of life beginning at conception.
Mr Kurt Waschnig seems to be writing very long comments on this subject which he would claim are simply to clarify the procedure. May I ask him what is his qualification and why he is going to such lengths to constantly describe the process? Why does he not promote other methods? Perhaps he could give a reply to this point so that people know what his agenda is.
Mr Albert Ganado suggests this is about "pandering to the bishops". I would say to him that this is about ensuring that human life obtains protection from the start. After all the protection of human life is an issue for all people regardless of their beliefs, if any. The Church may lead the way in valuing human life but its members are by no means the only ones who do so.
Kurt Waschnig
Jul 29th 2012, 16:38
That should not have happened that in vitro fertilisation has remained unregulated for some 20 years.
But meanwhile the government has launched a Bill entitled the “Embryo protection Bill”, that must be seen as an important step in the right direction.
For childless couples in vitro fertilisation is often the only way to fulfil one of their deepest wishes to have a child and to lead a happy family life.
“The new legislation will make it possible for practically all couples who meet specified criteria to make use of IVF, since it will be available on the national health service at Mater Dei Hospital.
A dream comes true for childless couples because they do not need to go abroad in order to fulfil their dream, in vitro fertilisation can be carried out at Mater Dei Hospital.
IVF is a very safe medical method to help couples.
The Catholic Church did condemn embryo freezing – which it seems the new law will prohibit save for the most extreme circumstances – as well as the general destruction of embryos in the IVF process.
Before a holistic and mature law on IVF is passed in Parliament it is of paramount importance at this juncture that all voices are heard to ensure that the legislation is as ethically acceptable and workable as possible.
Emotional arguments will not help and work to help childless couples.
It is most important to help couples to fulfil their dream of their own child. A woman who gives birth to a baby boy/girl is happy because she holds her own baby in her arms.
This is wonderful and the greatest gift a human being can receive is to have an own child.
I would like to post again my comment where I describe how IVF works:
I would like to describe how in vitro fertilization (IVF) works.
IVF has helped and will help couples to fulfil one of their deepest and natural wishes to have their own child.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the joining of a woman' s egg and a man' s sperm in a laboratory dish. In vitro means “outside the body.” Fertilization means the sperm has attached to and entered the egg.
Normally, an egg and sperm are fertilized inside a woman' s body. If the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the womb and continues to grow, a baby is born about 9 months later. This process is called natural or unassisted conception.
IVF is a form of assisted reproductive technology (ART). This means special medical techniques are used to help a woman become pregnant. IVF has been successfully used since 1978. It is most often tried when other, less expensive fertility techniques have failed.
There are five basic steps to IVF:
Step 1: Stimulation, also called super ovulation
Medicines, commonly called fertility drugs, are given to the woman to boost her egg production. Normally, a woman produces one egg per month. Fertility drugs tell the ovaries to produce several eggs. During this step, the woman will have regular transvaginal ultrasounds to examine the ovaries and blood tests to check hormone levels.
Step 2: Egg retrieval
A minor surgery, called follicular aspiration, is done to remove the eggs from the woman' s body. The surgery is normally done as an outpatient procedure in the doctor' s office. The woman will be given medicines so she does not feel pain during the procedure. Using ultrasound images as a guide, the health care provider inserts a thin needle through the vagina and into the ovary and sacs (follicles) containing the eggs. The needle is connected to a suction device, which pulls the eggs and fluid out of each follicle, one at a time. The procedure is repeated for the other ovary. The woman may have some cramping after the surgery, but it usually goes away within a day. In rare cases, a pelvic laparoscopy may be needed to remove the eggs.
If a woman does not or cannot produce any eggs, donated eggs may be used.
Step 3: Insemination and Fertilization
The man' s sperm is placed together with the best quality eggs and stored in an environmentally controlled chamber. The mixing of the sperm and egg is called insemination. The sperm usually enters (fertilizes) an egg a few hours after insemination. If the doctor thinks the chance of fertilization is low, the laboratory staff may directly inject the sperm into the egg. This is called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Many fertility programs routinely do ICSI on some of the eggs even if everything is normal.
Step 4: Embryo culture
When the fertilized egg divides, it becomes an embryo. Laboratory staff will regularly check the embryo to make sure it is growing properly. Within about 5 days, a normal embryo has several cells that are actively dividing.
Couples who have a high risk of passing a genetic (hereditary) disorder to a child may consider pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). The procedure is done about 3 -4 days after fertilization. Laboratory scientists remove a single cell from each embryo and screen the material for specific genetic disorders. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, PGD can help parents decide which embryos to implant, which decreases the chance of passing a disorder onto a child. The technique is controversial and not offered at all centres.
Step 5: Embryo transfer
Embryos are placed into the woman' s womb 3 - 5 days after egg retrieval and fertilization. The procedure is done in the doctor' s office while the woman is awake. The doctor inserts a thin tube (catheter) containing the embryos into the woman' s vagina, through the cervix, and up into the womb. If an embryo sticks to (implants) in the lining of the womb and grows, pregnancy results.
More than one embryo may be placed into the womb at the same time, which can lead to twins, triplets, or more. The exact number of embryos transferred is a complex issue that depends on many factors, especially the woman' s age. Unused embryos may be frozen and implanted or donated at a later date.
Why is IVF performed:
VF is done to help a woman become pregnant. It is used to treat many causes of infertility, including:
Advanced age of the woman (advanced maternal age)
Damaged or blocked fallopian tubes (can be caused by pelvic inflammatory disease or prior reproductive surgery)
Endometriosis
Male factor infertility, including decreased sperm count and blockage
Unexplained infertility
Best regards
Kurt Waschnig Oldenburg Germany
e-mail: [email protected]
Mr ALBERT LEONE GANADO
Jul 29th 2012, 14:15
In a way the proposed IVF proposed bill is a positive way forward because it gives all childless couples even those who cannot afford private treatment the chance of forming a family through state aided medical procedures. But it is silly and pandering to the bishops to use the euphemism of " bill to protect the embryo" especially given that this newly coined local term wont even satisfy the moral qualms of Catholic bishops. This definition for a supposedly positive IVF bill is however a retrograde step and one which is sure to raise serious suspicions and objections in liberal Europe because it can be interpreted as an attempt to further restrict the right to freedom of choice and extend right to life beyond the pregnancy state. It will most likely be seen as an official attempt by a government in europe to extend to frozen embryos, restrictions on the freedom of choice rights of women which no other country has dared to restrict . Of course the proposed technique of freezing eggs is still classified as experimental and the success rate is much lower to that achieved through use of frozen embryos where success is even greater to that in normal natural pregnancy cycles. The future perhaps lies in more effective and less stressful procedures to farm the eggs in which Israel is a leading research centre. Another policy to minimise freezing is to give women an unlimited number of chances to try for a child using IVF. It is pertinent to note that Israel has reduced the cost of the IVF procedure to one quarter of that in European facilities and now the procedure costs no more than the cost of a few days hospital stay.
John Zammit
Jul 29th 2012, 13:14
I just hope that the new legislation will not see a return to the divisive factor we had before the referendum on Divorce keeping in mind that we are nearer to election I also Hope no crusades are embarked and while every body is given a fair hearing Legislators will legislate for all irrespective of their believe
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