Shadow health minister will not ‘speculate’ about Labour IVF stand

Labour's perceived reluctance to reveal its electoral cards and major policy planks has now also drifted onto bills which the party has already committed itself to, with shadow health minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca refusing to reveal the party's intentions on the Embryo Protection Bill.

Following an initial tepid reaction, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said he would study the contents of the bill, which bans embryo freezing, and analyse public opinion before pronouncing himself on the issue.

But a full month since the bill was presented in June, Labour's shadow health minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca has confirmed with MaltaToday that the party has not yet taken an official stand on the bill that will regulate in vitro fertilisation.

Muscat, who said Labour's first legislative act if elected would be an IVF law, has so far steered away from any major statement on the controversial elements of the Nationalist government's bill, saying only that the bill does not fully reflect Parliament's consensus.

This prompted criticism from the Nationalist Party who accused Labour of being "unprepared".

Speaking to MaltaToday, Coleiro Preca said she is part of an internal committee in charge of studying the bill.

But asked whether any decisions had been taken in the committee, the MP said: "It is premature to speak about any decisions taken right now."

Without saying when the party will be unveiling its position, just days before it immerses itself into a national congress that will debate policy and its manifesto, Coleiro Preca said: "Some decisions have been taken internally but at the moment I cannot say anything else."

Coleiro Preca, one of the few Labour MPs to oppose the introduction of divorce in 2011, would also not commit herself to say whether the law should be discussed before a looming general election, saying it was up to Prime Minister to decide when the law will be debated.

"Labour has already committed itself to make the IVF law the first law it enacts once in power."

However when asked whether Labour intends to present a different law to the one which the Nationalist government has proposed - which bans embryo freezing and introduces the novel science of limited oocyte vitrification (egg freezing) - Coleiro Preca was again scant on detail.

"I will not speculate about that," adding that IVF was a very important and delicate issue, which Labour was committed to regularise.

Malta's draft law seeks to ban embryo freezing and instead opt for the vitrification of oocytes, limiting their fertilisation to just two ova, while the rest of the harvested ova are frozen for later fertilisation.

Both the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party have discussed proposals on IVF regulation in parliament, with a select committee of Nationalist MPs led by Jean-Pierre Farrugia, a family doctor, proposing the freezing of additional embryos that are created during IVF.

But the committee's proposals, which included putting up unwanted embryos for adoption, appeared to have been overturned when the debate was reopened in the parliamentary social affairs committee led by Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo, which delivered a more conservative viewpoint against that of the Farrugia report.

Oocyte vitrification enjoys the support of pro-life lobby Gift of Life, which objects to the freezing of embryos due to the availability of female egg freezing technology.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Health Minister Joe Cassar had already pronounced themselves in favour of egg freezing shortly after the conclusions of the Farrguia committee: partly because Mater Dei already had an IVF unit that was however, never put to public use, something that earned the rebuke of Labour leader Joseph Muscat.

But Labour's dithering on controversial issues has not only been limited to the IVF law. The party, which supports civil unions, has so far been scant on detail on the proposed Cohabitation Bill (see pages 8-9) which will be regularising relationships, including that of same-sex partners.

Muscat has however described justice minister Chris Said's bill to regulate cohabitation as a confirmation of the government's "homophobic policy", because it avoids considering gay partnerships as a family.

Muscat has long declared his position in favour of the introduction of civil unions for gay couples and this pledge is expected to form part of Labour's manifesto, but the proposal falls short of labelling such unions as 'marriage'.

Full marriage equality, as proposed by the Malta Gay Rights Movement, enjoys the backing of Alternattiva Demokratika.

A spokesman for the Labour Party has already said that the Opposition would be waiting for government to present the draft bill in parliament before making any comments. "Joseph Muscat has long taken the lead and publicly stated that he is in favour of civil unions for gay couples. That position still stands."

It is a stand that is reminiscent of last year's divorce referendum campaign, when Labour chose not to take an official stand on divorce but rested on its leader's pro-divorce stance as a sign of commitment.