The world of assisted medical reproductive technologies, although providing a haven for couples suffering from problems of infertility, most often loses sight of its moral compass in its quest to provide the couple with a child at any cost.

Although the wish to parent is a most noble desire, this should never take precedence over the rights of the child to be conceived.

The Embryo Protection Act in Malta strives to help couples suffering from infertility at the same time safeguarding the rights of the child created by this technique while still a human embryo. The law, as its name implies, does not lose sight of the humanity of the human embryo.

Considering that today the number of babies born through the IVF industry runs into millions, it is hard to understand how anyone can deny the humanity of the human embryo and refuse to incorporate his or her protection into law. Many IVF babies have siblings who will remain “frozen”, used for research or thawed and discarded. Is this the way we are choosing to go?

It is helpful to keep in mind that we are talking about one of us. The new human life, if given the chance, continues to grow and develop into the foetus, newborn and child, all stages in our human lifecycle.

The human embryo, even though so tiny that you can only see it with a microscope, is yet marvelously complete with its full genetic code, already a unique member of our species. He or she has a right to be treated with respect.

Any changes to the Embryo Protection Law that undermine the protection of the human embryo in Maltese law would set a very dangerous precedent.

This law protects the human embryo against being manipulated, selected, frozen or discarded. It prevents third party gamete donation that is the creation of human embryos intentionally having an unknown father.

This law outlaws surrogacy because this goes against the dignity of the new life created and turns this life into a commodity.

Surrogacy also objectifies women and creates a market of uteri to be rented. In fact, true feminists do not accept surrogacy because it involves the exploitation of women’s bodies.

Surrogacy does away with the concept of maternal attachment and bonding to the new baby. There are numerous studies of children born from these services that testify to the psychological harm that they suffer.

The law also limits access to married heterosexual couples or heterosexual couples in steady relationships, based on the natural need of the child to be raised, wherever possible, by its biological parents.

The human embryo, even though so tiny that you can only see it with a microscope, is yet marvelously complete with its full genetic code, already a unique member of our species

Are we going to start sacrificing the rights of the child? Should we take an unfair advantage because the children concerned have no say in the matter?

Alana Newman, the founder of The Anonymous Us project, highlights the harm that is unjustly done to these children. In an interview, she goes on to say that there is a lot of silence surrounding sperm or egg donation. People often cannot face telling the truth about their experiences with third party reproduction.

According to Newman, shame and an overwhelming reluctance to hurt remaining loved ones, coupled with privacy concerns and a need to maintain dignity, have led to a vacuum in the ethical debate over such practices in the fertility industry.

She sounds a warning bell that we should listen to! Surely these practices are not in the best interest of the child?

There are many other problems brought about by practices involving third party donation of gametes, such as the number of unknown siblings created and unknown medical history in cases of disease, to mention two common examples.

The new age of IVF heralds a generation of children who will feel betrayed by a generation besotted by individual rights to the exclusion of all else. We owe it to future generations of Maltese children to stand up for their rights. We have an Embryo Protection law that works, that gives results and best of all still safeguards the life of the human embryo.

We are a nation that holds our children’s interests, born and unborn, at heart.

It has been said that the hallmark of a civilised generation is measured by how much that generation cares for its most vulnerable members. The Embryo Protection Act is a tribute to the care of the most vulnerable of us – the unborn child.

Miriam Sciberras is chairwoman of Life Network Malta.