Giving way to embryo freezing would make MPs “an accomplice to murder”, government whip Godfrey Farrugia warned his colleagues this evening.

Speaking during the debate on the estimates of the Embryo Protection Authority, Dr Farrugia asked: “Who are we to decide which embryos are implanted and which are frozen?”

He said it was good to protect the right of a couple to form a family but it was also important to protect the universal right to life. “This is above all other rights,” he said.

Dr Farrugia said he would be voting in favour of the Bill but as for future amendments, “he would decide later”.

The Opposition has asked a division, scheduled to be taken on Wednesday week.
Winding up, Health Minister Chris Fearne said there were two frozen embryos at St Luke’s Hospital because a mother fell seriously ill before she could finish the IVF treatment cycle.