“Welcoming life, not selecting it,” European support has been voiced in a statement to the position paper of the Church on Embryo Protection Act
The Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe, together with its Member, the Cana Movement, has expressed its full support to the Position Paper of the Church in Malta [1] on Embryo Protection Act (Amendment) Bill n. 5.
In a statement by Vincenzo Bassi, President of FAFCE, he said that “this Amendment would introduce a provision designed directly to prevent a human embryo from being born, because the embryo has a genetic disorder, making a mockery of what the principal Act originally intended to implement, i.e. embryo protection.”
“This is clearly explained by the position paper, signed by 35 experts in clinical medicine, basic sciences, embryology, health sciences, law, psychology, social well-being, social policy, family studies, disability studies, philosophy and theology. After considering all the ethical aspects and on the basis of medical and legal considerations, the position paper clarifies that a such bill is not acceptable,” he said.
The signatories “recognise and share the pain and anguish of those prospective parents who are unable to have children of their own or of couples burdened with the knowledge that they might be carriers of a genetic variant” and call for more support services for couples going through fertility treatment, education to end the stigma of infertility, smoothening of complex bureaucratic adoption procedures, better genetic counselling services and a culture that is more welcoming to persons with disabilities (cf. p. 8), said Vincenzo Bassi.
He highlighted that at the same time the position paper clearly explains how “the Bill, in its current format, is facilitating selective eugenics and paving the way for the destruction of human life” (p. 9), as “any process that leads to the destruction of embryos is ethically unacceptable as it results in the destruction of human life, while reiterating that society is responsible for safeguarding and protecting the most vulnerable, including the human embryo.”
Vincenzo Bassi, stressed that the Bill will “change the Embryo Protection Act in a way that is tantamount to eugenics and will go against the Maltese constitution and the most basic principles of human dignity, beyond any religious credo.”
He concluded by saying that, “the human embryo cannot be treated as an object and there is no individual right priming over the right to life. We therefore ask to the Maltese legislators and executive to reconsider their decisions and to stop this procedure.”
The Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE) represents 32 national and local associations: we are the voice of families from a Catholic perspective at the European level. FAFCE holds a participatory status with the Council of Europe since 2001 and is a member of the Fundamental Rights Platform of the European Union. Cana Movement is its Maltese Member and the Malta Life Network Foundation holds an Observer Status within the Federation.