The government’s IVF reform was guided by the Labour Party’s principles of helping those most in need, party deputy leader Chris Fearne said this evening.

Speaking at the Labour Party’s annual general conference, Mr Fearne, who is also Health Minister, said he believed in the proposed IVF reform as he knew it was about doing the right thing.

“We as a party have faced waves before, but we have always stuck with our principles when it comes to what we believe in. And what we believe in is giving to those who need the most to ensure they are on a level playing field,” he said, to applause from party delegates in the party headquarters.

The introduction of embryo freezing and adoption, access to IVF for same-sex couples and single persons, as well as a public consultation on surrogacy are the highlights of a new IVF bill that has sparked controversy.

Mr Fearne said the Opposition was against the proposed reform, and that Opposition leader Adrian Delia had even pledged to reverse it if elected into power.

But, the minister said, he was sure he was on the right side of history on this - so much so that members of the Opposition had been approaching him with their views and suggestions to add to the reform.

“It is in us to help people - that is our mission as a party. And even if through this we can help just one more woman have a child, we will go to the moon and back, because that is what we are here to do,” he said, adding that the party had an electoral mandate to carry out the reform.

To those who feared that the reform would see embryos killed, Mr Fearne said the spirit of the reform was to do the opposite.

“This is a pro-life reform,” he said.

First steps within PL

Mr Fearne started off his speech by recounting to the delegates how he had come to join the party.

At the age of 16, he had faced a choice between the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party. He based his decision on the principles that guide them and their definitions of equality, he said.

“The Nationalists believe equality is treating everyone the same. The Labour Party believes in helping those less fortunate, to lift them up and give them equal opportunities. I shared that belief and have been in the party ever since,” he said.