Legislators are “forcing” more children to be born and raised out of wedlock by promoting cohabitation laws over divorce, according to Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando.

One in four children was born out of wedlock and the introduction of divorce would be a move in favour of marriage and stability, the MP said during a meeting between the pro-divorce Iva Movement and Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday.

He acknowledged it was his own party in government pushing the law on cohabitation, but asked why no one was objecting given it was just as morally questionable to Catholics as divorce.

“Let’s not force people to cohabit when they can instead remarry,” he said, adding that unlike cohabitation, marriage provided a sense of stability for children.

It was not wrong to have a law regulating cohabiting couples, he said, but the thousands of people whose marriage had broken down should also be given the option of remarriage.

During the joint press conference, AD chairman and Iva member Michael Briguglio said his party always had a clear position in favour of divorce as a civil right, and if he was Prime Minister he would introduce it immediately.

“But (Prime Minister) Lawrence Gonzi has decided that it must be introduced by referendum,” he said, adding that instead of boycotting the referendum, both his party and the movement decided to campaign for a yes vote.

Former Nationalist Minister Michael Falzon explained that it was easier for the movement to campaign for a yes vote than against a referendum, since a decision had already been taken and the public seemed to agree on the need for a mandate.

The movement has set up a website: www.iva.com.mt as well as a bank account for donations.