Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1470053
4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 JUNE 2022 4 NEWS LAURA CALLEJA DENYING embryo genetic testing to people with genetic disorders, who may be persons with disabilities themselves, is "discriminatory," a pro-choice doctors activist group has said. Doctors for Choice was reacting to a proposal by Doctors for Life, a pro-life lobby group, that suggested genetic test- ing of oocytes rather than embryos to avoid ethical problems. The pro-choice lobby group said genet- ic testing of eggs, known as polar body testing (PBT) is limiting in scope, labour intensive and carries a higher risk of mis- diagnosis than preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) of embryos. Parliament is later today expected to start discussing a government proposal to amend the in-vitro fertilisation law and include PGT as part of the treatment for prospective parents with a history of he- reditary disease. Doctors for Choice said the real dis- crimination happens when PGT is not al- lowed in Malta because it forces couples with genetic disorders to travel abroad for IVF. "These couples end up doing this at their own expense or risk having children affected by the disease. People without genetic disorders do not have to resort to PGT." PGT is a screening test of embryos cre- ated by IVF and provides a more accurate analysis before they are implanted in the woman's womb. Government is proposing the introduc- tion of PGT for monogenetic disorders and diseases in cases where the prospec- tive parents have a history of hereditary disease. Defective embryos will not be implanted but frozen. The disorders that will be tested for and the eligibility criteria for such tests will be specified in a protocol produced by the Embryo Protection Authority that has not yet been published. Health Minister Chris Fearne has prom- ised the protocol will be published when the parliamentary discussion on the amendments starts. This debate is ex- pected to kick off today. Opponents of PGT fear eugenics Genetic testing of eggs, PBT, is a diag- nostic method for indirect genetic anal- ysis and carries no ethical implications since fertilisation would not have hap- pened yet. But it has its limitations when compared to PGT. Opponents of the IVF amendments that include pro-life organisations and church groups insist PGT will lead to eugenics and is disrespectful to life. Doctors for Life said testing of eggs is more ethical than PGT. "At the point of fertilisation, a new human life has begun, whether this happens naturally or in IVF. This is a scientific and biological fact and not a matter of opinion." The group insisted that a human em- bryo is "not just a clump of cells, but a living, complete organism" that is at an early stage of its development. Doctors for Life said embryos have to be treated with respect and dignity. Denying disabled person right to choose But Doctors for Choice argued that de- nying PGT to people with genetic disor- ders, who may be persons with disabili- ties themselves, is discriminatory. "Those who oppose PGT are oppos- ing the rights of people with disabilities. They are telling them, 'sorry, we won't let you make free use of medical advanc- es in Malta to have healthy children - go pay for it abroad'," the pro-choice lobby group said. It added embryos are not human per- sons and most of them fail to produce a pregnancy, let alone a baby. "Embry- os are being used by those who want to push an anti-choice ideology to deny disabled persons their human rights." Doctors for Choice pointed out that there are several disadvantages to the testing of eggs. "It only tests for ma- ternal conditions. It is more labour-in- tensive as it must test two polar bodies compared to testing one blastocyst and there's a higher risk of misdiagnosis from polar body testing than from the direct testing of an embryo," the NGO said. Testing for monogenetic diseases caused by variation in a single gene could identify embryos that are prone to develop various conditions such as sick- le cell anaemia, cystic fibrosis, Hunting- ton's disease, ALS, Duchene muscular dystrophy and Down's Syndrome. It remains to be seen which hereditary diseases and conditions the new law will allow to be tested for. Grech hints Opposition against PGT The Second Reading on the IVF law starts this afternoon but it remains unclear whether the Opposition will support all the changes. Speaking on TVM News Plus' Xtra on Monday night, Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech hinted the Opposition may not support embryo genetic testing. He said there were amendments he agreed with, some that needed to change and others "that I do not like". "Some amendments are not necessarily linked to IVF and how we can assist couples have children but what is being proposed is the selection embryos; the selection of life," Grech said. When the IVF law was last amended in 2018, then party leader Adrian Delia had given his MPs a free vote although the Opposition eventually voted against. The amendments back then provided a wholescale overhaul of the law by removing several restrictions that characterised the IVF law introduced in 2012. Grech said the PN parliamentary group has discussed the matter and more discussions will be held. "We want to help people have children but life also has value for us… these are decisions that impact life and on this aspect, the PN has always been clear that it seeks the protection of life from conception to death," Grech said. Pressed on the use of PGT to avoid babies being born with debilitating hereditary diseases, Grech cautioned against statements that could hurt people. "There are people who have children with difficulties, such as Down's Syndrome, who tell you their children are the best thing that happened to them. Not everybody sees perfection as the best thing and let us be careful how we discuss things," Grech cautioned. Doctors for Choice: Denying embryo genetic testing to couples with genetic disorders is discriminatory