So far I have intentionally refrained from commenting about political issues that are the subject of controversy in Malta. But recently I have been quoted in a manner that is unacceptable to me and to the values I have championed all my life.
The Nationalist Party and Simon Busuttil do not need me to defend their stance on civil unions and gay adoptions. They are perfectly capable of doing so themselves. But since I have been pulled into the fray, I believe it is my duty to respond.
Malta now has a Civil Union Act which, according to government spokesmen, recognises the ‘right’ of gay couples to adopt.
Let me set the record straight. The Bill was originally drafted by the PN government. It was a difficult piece of legislation but we were prepared to legislate because we always felt that the time was ripe for a couple living together (whether hetero-sexual or not) to have a legal framework that establishes duties and responsibilities emanating from a stable relationship.
Had the new law presented by this government remained within these parameters than I am sure that the PN Parliamentary Group would have had no difficulty offering their full support. Indeed it would have been amiss for them not to do so.
Unfortunately, however, this government decided to include a new aspect which was not part of the original drafts: the purported right for gay couples to adopt.
I believe that the PN Parliamentary group could never go along with this part of the proposal for a number of reasons, chief among which is the fact that there is no right to adoption. Heterosexual couples do not have a right to adopt. It is only children who have a right to be adopted by the best possible adoptive parents. It is indeed very sad that this government has subjected the child’s best interests to those of someone else.
It is only children who have a right to be adopted by the best possible adoptive parents. It is indeed very sad that this government has subjected the child’s best interests to those of someone else
This has always been my stance and I resent the fact that some people want to spin this in a manner that suits their myopic political agendas.
Let me be clear: I would have disagreed even if somebody argued that a heterosexual couple who have been married for a number of years had a right to adopt. They do not have this right. Indeed in some cases it would be inadvisable for a child to be adopted by such parents for some very valid reasons.
The concept itself, therefore, is fundamentally flawed.
The PN Parliamentary Group made this point during the parliamentary process. They did so forcefully. But this government pooh-poohed the arguments put forward by those who disagreed.
As a result we are now stuck with a law that discards the child’s best interests and contradicts the law regulating adoptions which seeks to protect the child’s right to be adopted by the best parent or parents possible in the circumstances.
The PN Parliamentary Group chose not to betray its commitment to support the original Bill, but it refused to endorse the ‘adoption’ part of it arguing that more time was needed to examine the matter and to understand the consequences.
A free vote could have been an option. But an abstention was also a valid answer to the disservice that has been done to the adoptive process and therefore to vulnerable children.
And now, for those of you who are still sitting on the fence, keeping their eyes and ears closed, please note that the floodgates are wide open.
Yesterday the government was forced to clarify a statement made earlier by Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli which could have been interpreted as an indication that abortion was a possibility under this Labour government.
The statement denied this. But I am not convinced. We have heard similar denials before which have since proven to be unfounded.
After all, the arguments put forward to justify the right to adoption by gay couples (liberalism, minority rights, modern society, winds of change) will resonate also in this future abortion debate. They will be the same arguments we will hear regarding surrogacy, IVF etc.
The question is: what are we going to do about it?
Lawrence Gonzi is the ex-Prime Minister and former leader of the Nationalist Party.