Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1472871
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 JULY 2022 NEWS decade which kept the PN breathless way out as PN leader, sealed his liberal imprint by enforcing the whip on party MPs amidst res- ervations by several of his MPs on the wording of the law. 6. November 2017 – leave for IVF patients Just weeks after being elected new PN leader, Adrian Delia sent shivers down the spines of party liberals by presenting a motion calling for the revo- cation of a legal notice grant- ing prospective parents leave to undergo medically assisted procreation. The Opposition argued that the legal notice was not coherent with the wording of the Embryo Protection Act, which excluded embryo freez- ing and surrogacy. Result Six members of the opposi- tion, namely Mario De Marco, Therese Comodini Cachia, Karl Gouder, Karol Aquilina, Chris Said and former party leader Simon Busuttil. The rebel MPs had previously asked for a free vote arguing that motion went against their conscience. Delia denied their request for a free vote. Consequences Coming in the wake of Delia's first speech as PN leader at the Granaries, when he invoked the 'religio et patria' leitmotif, the motion was a clear indica- tion of a rollback on civil lib- erties in a party still struggling with its identity following two consecutive electoral defeats. 7. April 2018 – ratification of domestic vio- lence convention The law transposed the Is- tanbul Convention on domes- tic violence. The Opposition insisted on a reference to the unborn child in the law, which was not included in the con- vention. Result Nationalist MPs Karol Aqui- lina, Jason Azzopardi, Simon Busuttil, Claudette Buttigieg, Therese Comodini Cachia, Mario de Marco, Karl Goud- er, Chris Said, and Democratic Party MPs Godfrey Farrugia, Marlene Farrugia voted in fa- vour of the bill together with government MPs. Ironically the foremost critics of the PL government on corruption is- sues found themselves with no choice but to vote with the gov- ernment on the ratification of an international convention. Consequences In this case Adrian Delia had allowed a free vote in his par- liamentary group. But the em- barrassing stance against an international convention on domestic violence gave Labour an opportunity to ridicule the Opposition. It also coincided with the growing split in the PN between Delia loyalists and party rebels orbiting around groups like Repubblika. 8. June 2018 – IVF law amended to allow embryo freezing Parliament approved amend- ments to the IVF law approved in 2012 allowing embryo freez- ing and enabling same-sex cou- ples and single parents to ac- cess IVF treatment in line with the advice of fertility experts who argue that for IVF pro- grammes to be successful they have to include the option to freeze embryos. The result Parliament approved the third reading of the draft law on the protection of embryos with 34 votes in favour and 27 votes against. All members of the op- position voted against the law. Consequences In an indication that embryo freezing remained taboo for the PN, despite being given a free vote, all MPs rallied behind party leader Adrian Delia as a small crowd of anti-abortion activists protested in Parlia- ment square. The vote suggest- ed that the party as a whole was putting the presumed rights of human cells above medical and scientific considerations. The absence of former minis- ter George Vella, who regard- ed embryo freezing as a "moral travesty" from the PL bench, also facilitated the passage of the bill. 9. December 2021 – legalising can- nabis Just months before general elections, parliament approved a new law which completely decriminalised personal pos- session of 7 grams of cannabis, allowing citizens to grow up to four cannabis plants in their own home and permitted the setting up of cannabis associ- ations which can sell members up to 50 grams a month for members. Result The bill was approved with 36 votes in favour and 27 against. All PN MPs voted against the bill. Consequences The vote was a clear rebuff by PN MPs of their own leader, who had initially hinted that he was in favour of the setting up of cannabis associations to ensure that consumers will not have to rely on the ille- gal market for their personal supply. While the Opposition remained compact in its op- position to the bill, the con- tradictions between the line adapted by the parliamentary group and Grech's personal opinions, clearly undermined Grech's position in the party. 10. July 2022 – IVF law amended to permit PGT The amendments widen ac- cessibility to IVF and intro- duce pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) for nine hered- itary diseases. PGT will allow doctors to choose only healthy embryos for transfer into the woman's womb, while the de- fective ones will be kept frozen. Labour had a mandate for the law having pledged to pass the IVF changes in its first 100 days in office, a feat that has been achieved. The result The amendments were ap- proved with 66 votes in favour and three against. Former Na- tionalist Party leader Adrian Delia and Opposition MPs Alex Borg and Ivan Bartolo, disre- garded the party Whip and voted against the amendments. Former Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici who could not vote, as he was sick with COV- ID also supported the rebels. Consequences A great majority of National- ist MPs-including party leader Bernard Grech- dropped their previous ideological opposi- tion to embryo freezing and accepted Labour's new normal, thus giving a strong indication that the party wants to start a new page on this issue as it had previously done with LGBTIQ rights. But the decision was not an easy with party leader Ber- nard Grech flip flopping on this issue, initially suggesting that the party was opposed to PGT but finally accepting the bill fol- lowing changes which put PGT on equal footing with testing on unfertilised ova. While Delia's position and insistence on a free vote, gives leadership to an intransigent minority of conservative MPs, signalling more trouble for party leader Bernard Grech if Labour continues to push the boundaries on ethical issues like euthanasia and abortion. But the party's final vote suggests a welcome realisation by Grech that intransigence and block- ing the pursuit of happiness, risk driving the party against a brick wall. And by holding the whip Grech ensured that the revolt was limited to a handful of MPs.