Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/531627
4 JURGEN BALZAN THE inter-ministerial working group reviewing the IVF law will be suggesting revisions that could lead to updates in the Embryo Protec- tion Act as well as the entitlement criteria for patients receiving the service. However, the health ministry did not explicitly confirm whether the group would be making specific recommendations on whether the ban on embryo freezing should re- main. Controversially the law intro- duced by the previous Nationalist administration bans embryo freez- ing and embraced the novel science of freezing the female gametes – ova – which are then fertilised in pairs: after harvesting, two eggs are fertilised with sperm, while the rest of the eggs are frozen for later use. Unlike embryo freezing, vitrifi- cation skirts the ethical dilemmas of leaving 'unclaimed' human em- bryos in freezers. No more than two ova can be fertilised during each fertilisation cycle, and access to IVF is regulated by an embryology au- thority to decide who is entitled to the free treatment. A health ministry spokesperson told MaltaToday that the work- ing group's main remit is to assess "how the Embryo Protection Act, introduced in 2012, is functioning in practice". The working group is chaired by Chief Medical Officer Denis Vella Baldacchino and includes a number of experts – gynaecologists Mark Brincat and Mark Sant, the vice- president of the Embryo Protection Authority, Simone Attard, Anna Lisa Sciortino, Silvan Agius, and Sarah Portelli. Josie Muscat kept 'in the dark' Since its introduction, the IVF law has been contested by experts who contend that the controversial treatment reduces the pregnancy rate by half. To date 109 couples have had IVF treatment fully funded by the Department of Health. Of these, 33 have gone into pregnancy with three babies having been born, while a number of other mothers are in their pregnancy stage In comments to MaltaToday, Jo- sie Muscat, the doctor who for the past 24 years led Malta's most active infertility clinic, said that neither he nor the private hospital he runs has been contacted by the working group. "There has been no contact at all, we are kept in the dark on such mat- ters," he said. Muscat insisted that the IVF law which limits the fertilisation of eggs to two was driving patients abroad and he called on the government to introduce amendments which would allow patients who ask to have more eggs fertilized to seek treatment in private hospitals in Malta. "People who afford to seek treat- ment abroad have a better chance then patients who cannot go abroad," the St James Hospital own- er said. "Why shouldn't we allow patients who ask to have three eggs fertilised instead of two after being properly counselled? Why this discrimina- tion?" He added that the arbitrary cut-off age of 43 also discriminates against older people and impinges on their right to have equal opportunities. The conservative former MP stressed that not all patients were being treated equally, claiming that the government was pandering to requests by the gay community for its own electoral exigencies, while the needs of other people are being ignored. Currently, the Embryo Protection Act restricts IVF services to "two persons of the opposite sex" who are either "united in marriage" or "in a stable relationship with each other". On its introduction, gay rights ac- tivists dubbed the law as "unasham- edly homophobic" because it denies access to medical services to same- sex couples. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 24 JUNE 2015 News Government silent on removal of ban on embryo freezing The law bans embryo freezing and a maximum of two eggs can be fertilised Muscat's cabinet roadshow 'closing ears to critics' – PN MATTHEW VELLA THE Nationalist Party has accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of silencing critics after just two years of his Cabinet's public consultation roadshow. The PN was reacting to reports in The Times that two unnamed businessmen who intended ask- ing questions on the controversial Old Mint Street expropriation, that gave Marco Gaffarena €1.65 million, were told they could not ask those questions to lands parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon. The two businessmen were told by an official from the OPM not to ask questions about the Lands Depart- ment, which falls within Falzon's portfolio. "I had booked a seat to at- tend the session with Dr Falzon. In the afternoon, I was contacted by a government official from the OPM telling me clearly not to ask ques- tions about the Lands Department," one of the businessmen said. "This only confirms that Muscat is choosing to isolate himself from the people, and an initiative that looks good on paper now has been turned into a charade that is being totally controlled. It only confirms Mus- cat's hard-headedness," the PN said. The party accused Muscat of "turning Gaffarena into a multi- millionaire overnight", paying en- ergy minister Konrad Mizzi's wife €13,000 monthly on her appoint- ment as envoy, paying his MPs vari- ous salaries as political appointees in the public sector, cashing in his car allowance for an additional €7,000 a year, and paying Cyrus Engerer a salary close to €100,000 as his sher- pa in Brussels. On Monday, opposition leader Si- mon Busuttil mounted yet another charge on the Labour administra- tion's proximity with construction contractors and called on Falzon to resign. "In just two years, 'Malta Taghna Lkoll' has become 'Malta Taghhom Biss'… 'Malta ta' Gaffarena biss'… a government that caters for the in- terests of the few, and whose own Labour supporters feel that they've had enough of," Busuttil told Parlia- ment. In a quick reaction, Prime Min- ister Joseph Muscat reiterated that "we should wait for the IAID to conclude its investigation. I am con- fident that the investigation will re- veal all facts." Members of the audience for Michael Falzon's public consultation meeting were told not to ask questions about the Lands Department 'Muscat choosing to isolate himself from the people, turning Gvern Li Jisma into charade that is being totally controlled' – PN