Labour MP Michael Farrugia has not completely ruled out the use of the morning-after pill in rape cases but called for an in-depth debate on its implications in the social affairs parliamentary committee.
Speaking in his personal capacity, his stand, however, jars with that of the party leader Joseph Muscat who said he could not be in favour of any method that ended life at any stage.
They were both reacting to a motion passed in a special session of the Youth Parliament approving the used of the morning-after pill in rape cases.
Dr Farrugia, who sits on the Social Affairs Committee (SAC), said his official political opinion reflected that of the Labour Party which always made it clear that it was against abortion.
However, he personally felt that a debate was needed to discuss the full implications of the morning-after pill - especially in rape cases. The debate would have to include the issue of the right to life of both the embryo and the mother.
"I think the ideal place to hold this delicate debate is in the Social Affairs Committee," he said.
Committee chairman Edwin Vassallo said he was open to debating the issue in the committee and that he would not object to discussing the exceptional use of the morning-after pill.
However, he said, the discussion would have to delve into all the angles - medical, ethical and legal - and should not be rushed through. "We have to be technically correct to see if it is a form of abortion. Will using the morning-after pill have the same effect as an operation in the operating theatre?"
Sports Parliamentary Secretary Clyde Puli, himself a former chairman of Social Affairs Committee, said the issue could not be simply taken at face value.
"It doesn't only boil down to a matter of rape but depends strongly on the definition of life," he said.
If life was created as a result of a rape, then an unborn child could not be condemned because the father was a criminal, Mr Puli said.
Even though this proposal was put forward by youths to create a debate, their political peers did not take a stand on the issue. Nationalist Party Youth Movement (MŻPN) president Mathieu Cilia said he could not comment.
The issue was never discussed in the Nationalists' youth section, he said. MŻPN, however, was against any form of abortion.
Similarly, Daniel Micallef, president of the Labour Youths Forum, said they were clearly against abortion but did not have a position on the morning-after pill.