The ‘proposed ‘changes to the Embryo Protection Act have, not surprisingly, provoked quite an overpowering debate. But what exactly is being proposed?
It is being suggested that same sex couples have a right to have babies. This implies that a surrogate mother or a sperm donor is required or both. Changes would therefore include embryo freezing, which would result in placing the embryo at risk or, worse still, it being discarded.
All these risks are avoided in our present Embryo Protection Act. Yet, any minimal alteration will create a law that is totally different and contrary to the reason why the Embryo Protection Act itself was made in the first place: to protect the rights of the unborn child from the moment of conception.
Who is addressing the rights of the embryo? Who is giving a voice to the unborn child, which should be paramount in this legislation? What if the embryo is defective, will it be aborted?
Abortion is the killing of an unborn child. In Malta it is illegal. Should any adult be allowed to decide whether a child’s life should be terminated?
Malta is one of the few countries that recognises the rights of the unborn child and, yet, we are proposing legislation that will undo all the legal safeguards that Maltese citizens have been championing to protect the unborn child, a self-evident principle that is endorsed by both major political parties.
Will the person born from a surrogate mother and a sperm donor legally have a right to know his/her parents or shall we insist on anonymity and deprive the person the knowledge s/he is requesting as its basic right?
Is surrogacy not taking advantage of vulnerable women, enticing them to perform a ‘good deed’ for an unhappy couple, by using the woman’s body against payment to satisfy the ‘need’ to have a child? A barter of needs: the woman needs the money, the hirer needs the accessory- the child. Several sites quote the rates for the various services in relation to the ‘good deed’ with not a mention to any compensation if the woman suffers any repercussions as a result of the pregnancy.
Malta does not want to jeopardise the life of the unborn child simply to satisfy the desires of some individuals at all costs
What would happen if the couple decide to end their relationship before the child is born? It has happened before.
These and other complications that arise cannot be easily dealt with through legislation. As has been evidenced in many other countries, tampering with nature in a manner that reduces the human embryo to a commodity, that is an objective to obtain at all costs, can be disastrous for all parties- for the would be parents, the surrogate mother and, not least, for the unborn child.
Malta does not want to jeopardise the life of the unborn child simply to satisfy the desires of some individuals at all costs.
The Maltese are renowned for their support of the most vulnerable such as children suffering from a terminal illness or a disability. The Maltese people care and the concept of the ‘common good’ of citizens of all ages has always been paramount in the history of our islands. It should especially remain so in the case of the protection of the human embryo.
Mary Gaerty is president of the National Council of Women.