IVF bill humiliating but can be salvaged - Muscat

The IVF bill is humiliating for parents, children and professionals, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said this evening. Speaking in Parliament, during the debate on the bill for the protection of the embryo, Dr Muscat said the Opposition would be voting in favour of the second reading not because it agreed with the bill as presented but because it agreed on the need to regulate. It also believed that the bill could be salvaged but it would be moving crucial amendments at committee stage, he said. He proposed the committee stage to be debated in plenary and it was willing to agree on a timetable that would wholly cover the debate by the end of next week. The Opposition, Dr Muscat said, believed that it would be irresponsible if, after so many years of debate, the current vacuum was allowed to continue. The law the House would enact would not be perfect and could present moral dilemmas for some. Dr Muscat said he was willing to give the bill the benefit of the doubt because he believed it could be changed and improved. Declaring himself as a liberal, he said this to him meant not to be afraid to be labelled. “We have to show European courage in our country, live European values and...