Frank Muscat (December 27) quoted Social Policy Minister John Dalli telling Parliament that "the government's priority was to strengthen the family and, given the means, he would work towards that rather than building contingency plans for when this broke down". Mr Muscat disagreed with this approach and criticised it for "being out of synch with the plight of children in care".

I will not go into the merits of caring for children in institutional care but into the cost benefits for the government and society of strengthening the family by strengthening the wholesome development of all children from the moment of conception. In this way the government will also save on the cost of "building contingency plans" for when the lives of children break down physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically in the womb, when they are born, in infancy and childhood and also in adult life.

For this purpose the Malta Unborn Child Movement has been spearheading the benefits to pregnant women, unborn children and society of the discoveries of scientists like Thomas Verny, who has established that "by creating a warm, emotionally enriching environment in utero, a woman can make a decisive difference in everything her child feels, hopes, dreams, thinks and accomplishes throughout life." Verny adds: "The womb is the child's first world. How he experiences it, as friendly or hostile, does create personality and character predispositions for life".

Policy decisions in this direction would mean children are cared for properly from the very beginning of their lives, from formative and preventive aspects. This would increase tremendously the probability that as many unborn children as possible turn out to be contented children and later on, loving and caring spouses and parents who, in turn, are not likely to produce children "socially disadvantaged, backward intellectually and educationally and disturbed emotionally" as Mr Muscat very rightly pointed out. They will turn out to also be sensitive and caring corporate managers able to create a healthy climate at work with contented workers and fewer emotionally backward and industrially disadvantaged workers.