Members of various organisations yesterday urged parliamentarians to safeguard Malta’s pro-life status by rejecting plans that would allow embryo freezing and surrogacy.

Addressing a sizeable crowd in front of the new Parliament building in Valletta, they warned that any meddling with the Embryo Protection Act introduced three years ago would spell disaster.

The call was made at the end of a symbolic march in which participants, donning red T-shirts, carried placards with messages against embryo freezing and sperm donation.

Pro-life activists, including children, carrying placards during yesterday’s symbolic march in Valletta, which was also addressed by Gianna Jessen (centre).

In a heartfelt appeal, abortion survivor Gianna Jessen urged those present to fight against the introduction of abortion but keep forgiveness and Jesus in their hearts.

“Stand now and fight now because this evil is at your doorstep and must be fought,” she said. “If abortion is about a woman’s rights, what about mine,” she asked.

Born in America in 1977, Ms Jessen has become a prominent worldwide pro-life activist due to her miraculous escape from death after her 17-year-old mother had committed abortion by saline injection. In spite of spending 18 hours burning in the solution, the baby was delivered still alive, albeit with a number of conditions, including cerebral palsy.

Government whip Godfrey Farrugia, a GP, was among the crowd and justified his presence saying that “as a citizen” he believed in the right of life, which he described as a universal issue.

“Beyond politics and religion, the right of life always prevails,” he said. When it was pointed out to him that his views could possibly clash with his own government, as he was also a legislator, he declined to comment saying the issue was still being debated by the Labour parliamentary group.

Other prominent personalities at the event were Nationalist MPs Tonio Fenech and Antoine Borg and hospital owner Josie Muscat, one of the pioneers of the introduction of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Malta.

The event was also addressed by Life Network chairman Miriam Sciberras who said that a county that prided itself in legislating in favour of equality and civil rights was also in duty bound to ensure that life was safeguarded from conception.

She reiterated her organisation’s objections against the freezing of embryos to enable gay couples to have children, saying it was only “natural” that same-sex partners could not have their own biological children.

Dr Sciberras cautioned that abortion need not necessarily be introduced overnight but could be enacted gradually, starting off by a series of changes like the ones being contemplated by the government.

Earlier, representatives from a number of organisations, including the National Council of Women and Gift of Life, addressed the crowd that was entertained by former Eurovision contestant Gianluca Bezzina.