Gift of Life, the pro-life foundation, said this afternoon that it was disappointed and perpelexed by a comment given by Alfred Sant during a televised press conference yesterday.

The foundation said that when Dr Sant was asked by Charmaine Attard, a journalist from Capital Radio, about the Constitutional amendment being proposed to provide the unborn child the clear right to life. Dr. Sant said that this issue still ‘needs' to be discussed at parliamentary group level.

"In the past Dr Sant had told members of the Gift of Life foundation that the matter was ‘in the ‘process' of being discussed at parliamentary group level. On the 20th October 2007, the MLP were approached for comments on their position on this amendment by TVM news and a Malta Labour Party spokesperson said that the MLP was discussing the proposal at a parliamentary group level. We had consequently understood that progress was therefore being made on the issue. This new development is most disappointing and leaves us very perplexed."

The foundation said that while welcoming Dr Sant's reassertion that the Malta Labour Party in government had and intended to retain, existing laws banning abortion if in government, it was extremely concerned that in the same breath, Dr Sant expressed his opinion on other wider social issues, that in his view, hada greater priority level over this proposed amendment.

"We were left speechless to learn that these priorities also included the legal rights for the protection of animals in Malta.

"Whilst recognizing the value of protecting these creatures adequately, this cannot in any way be categorized as more urgent than the protection of the unborn child.

"The unborn child in Malta remains devoid of a clear right to life and is currently only protected in Malta by our criminal code, which could be changed by a one-seat majority. All human rights emanate from the fundamental right to life from conception. The protection of life from conception should have an absolute priority over all other issues for social justice to prevail," the foundation said.

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