Youth group warns embryo freezing will lead to ‘state-sanctioned eugenics’

A proposed new law that would allow embryo freezing will lead to “state-sanctioned eugenics”, a youth group forming a ‘party’ at the National Youth Parliament said.

A proposed law will increase the number of ova that can be fertilized, from two to five eggs, and a maximum of two embryos will be able to be implanted in the mother at one go. If out of these eggs, more than two embryos are produced, the remainder will be frozen to be re-used by the couple for another cycle. Unused embryos will be offered for adoption.

However, in front of a Parliament that was eventually filled by Cabinet members heading down following a meeting, the youth group warned that this could lead to "state sanctioned eugenics", with doctors implanting the two healthiest-looking embryos in the mothers’ wombs and freezing the remaining ones.

“Eugenically handpicking embryos is illegal, as well as damaging to human dignity,” the group warned in their report, warning that the unused embryos will be locked into a freezer indefinitely “as a commodity of their parents”.

“Moreover, 30% of frozen babies [sic] die during the thawing process, while others suffer serious damages and are allowed to die,” it said.

Fleur Abela from the Law Students’ Association challenged this claim and insisted that embryo freezing is all about giving people the right to have a family. She was supported by health parliamentary secretary Chris Fearne who delivered an off-the-cuff speech, arguing that the proposed IVF update is all about using cutting-edge technology to help as many people as possible create life.

However, this was rebutted by Sara Portelli who argued that several alternatives exist – including Natural Procreative Technology, Gamete Interfallopian Transfer, and adoption.   

The group also opposed any introduction of surrogacy and sperm donation, arguing that such practices deny children the right to develop a relationship with their natural parents. From a feminist standpoint, they also argued that surrogacy reduces a woman’s womb to an object for rent and that its allowance can lead to people exploiting other people’s wombs for financial purposes.   

Moreover, they proposed a Constitutional update to grant people the right to life from the moment of conception, pointing at legal ‘loopholes’ that grant a maximum life prison sentence for people found guilty of murdering a newborn baby, but only three years’ imprisonment if said baby is still in the mother’s womb.