Days after the number of signatures on a parliamentary petition opposing embryo freezing mysteriously decreased, the Gift of Life Foundation raised the alarm when the deadline allowing signatures was suddenly brought forward. 

The petition, which was filed on April 3 by Emanuela Cachia, calls on MPs to ensure the Embryo Protection Act is not amended and says plans to allow embryos to be frozen would violate the right to life. 

The closing date for the petition, which has been signed by more than 8,400 people, was initially set for June 5, but on Sunday it was brought forward to May 30.

Gift of Life cried foul and questioned whether the reduction of the time period was in line with the guidelines set by Parliament.

The majority of those unable to sign the petition were inputting incorrect data or trying to sign multiple times

After Times of Malta contacted the House of Representatives, the date was changed back to June 5. The Clerk told Times of Malta that IT personnel corrected the date and were looking into the matter.

On Monday, the lobby group was left “speechless” when more than 8,000 signatures were slashed to some 7,790. This followed complaints by “hundreds” who were finding it difficult to sign the petition.

But the Speaker’s Office said it was the result of a “loophole” allowing repeated pledges. The pledges were revised and repeated signatures by the same signatories had been eliminated.

Since then, the number of signatures grew again, reaching 8,400.

Meanwhile, the office noted that the majority of those unable to sign the petition were inputting incorrect data or trying to sign multiple times.