Updated - Adds PL Women's reaction - The women's section of the Nationalist Party said this afternoon that a statement by the PL women's section yesterday calling on the government to consider allowing surrogacy was 'amateurish'.

"The out-of-the-blue statement by the Labour Women in the thick of summer shows Joseph Muscat’s way of doing politics. He prefers to hide behind the non-functioning Labour Women’s outfit to fly a kite and manipulate public opinion instead of coming clean and telling the people what he thinks," the section said.

The former government had introduced the Embryo Protection Act to help couples who faced difficulties to have children whilst protecting human life, it said. The success rates of the ethically-responsible IVF procedures introduced in Malta as a result of this law compared very well with other countries.

"If Joseph Muscat wants to change this law he should, for once, shoulder his responsibility as Prime Minister and tell us why he should change the law and how. Is he in favour or against embryo freezing? Is he in favour or against using women’s wombs for surrogacy? How does he suggest dealing with frozen embryos that are left unused? Will he legislate to introduce surrogacy and embryo freezing? Yes or no? Does he have the courage of conviction to tell the people what he thinks as Prime Minister or not?" the PN women asked.

"The freezing of embryos and surrogacy are far too serious subjects, with huge ethical ramifications, to be thrown into the public domain through a statement from a non-functioning Labour outfit. They deserve serious study and profound public consultation and not an amateurish statement in the middle of August," it said.

PL URGES PN TO PUBLISH ITS OWN VIEWS

In a reaction, the Labour Women in a statement called on their PN counterparts to issue their own recommendations for the review of the IVF law.

See Labour statement at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150818/local/archbishop-reacts-as-labour-women-call-on-government-to-consider.581105