{"id":270116,"date":"2022-06-16T12:42:10","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T17:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=270116"},"modified":"2022-06-14T22:07:14","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T03:07:14","slug":"malta-eugenic-screening-embryos-ivf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/malta-eugenic-screening-embryos-ivf\/","title":{"rendered":"Malta considers allowing more eugenic screening of embryos created by IVF"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Malta is considering <\/span>legislation<\/span><\/a> which would amend that country\u2019s IVF regulations. The current <\/span>law<\/span><\/a>, known as the Embryo Protection Act prohibits \u201cselect[ing] or discard[ing] an embryo for eugenic purposes.\u201d But Malta\u2019s new bill would add exceptions to this rule, and would allow for pre-implantation genetic screening for nine genetic <\/span>conditions<\/span><\/a>, including Huntington\u2019s Disease, Tay-Sachs Disease, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which are almost always fatal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Malta currently does not allow the destruction of any<\/em> embryos created during the IVF process. Under the country’s original <\/span>law<\/span><\/a>, only two embryos could be created at a time, both of which had to be transferred into the mother\u2019s womb at the same time. Cryopreservation was not permitted except under specific circumstances, such as serious injury to the mother occurring between fertilization and transfer. However, a 2018 <\/span>update<\/span><\/a> to the law allowed for the creation of up to five embryos, which could then be frozen if not transferred.<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Malta prime minister believes screening out \u2018imperfect\u2019 embryos for IVF is pro-life<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Under the country’s new guidelines, prospective parents would be able to petition the Embryo Protection Authority (EPA) to include additional conditions on the eugenic screening list. <\/span>According<\/span><\/a> to pro-life group Lovin Malta, \u201cThe EPA will have to consider several factors, including the severity of the condition, the likelihood of it being inherited and the testimony of people affected by the condition\u201d in its decision when considering whether to add any particular condition to the list for which pre-implantation genetic screening is allowed. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms Rebecca Buttigieg has <\/span>promised<\/span><\/a> that screening for Down syndrome will not be allowed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Embryos that are screened out will not be destroyed, but will instead be \u201c<\/span>cryopreserved<\/span><\/a> in a dedicated storage facility in the faint hope that they will one day be adopted,\u201d after effective treatments have been developed,\u00a0reports Lovin Malta.<\/span><\/p>\n

Children conceived via IVF have an <\/span>increased risk<\/span><\/a> of several conditions, including low birth weight, premature delivery, hospital admission, perinatal mortality, birth defects, cancer, epigenetic disorders, and cognitive impairment, compared to naturally conceived children.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Malta is considering legislation which would amend that country\u2019s IVF regulations. The current law, known as the Embryo Protection Act prohibits \u201cselect[ing] or discard[ing] an embryo for eugenic purposes.\u201d But Malta\u2019s new bill would add exceptions to this rule, and would allow for pre-implantation genetic screening for nine genetic conditions, including Huntington\u2019s Disease, Tay-Sachs Disease, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":788,"featured_media":270119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5,4,3473],"tags":[2111,17788,756],"yoast_head":"\nMalta considers allowing more eugenic screening of embryos created by IVF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Under Malta's new guidelines, prospective parents could petition the Embryo Protection Authority to include more conditions on the eugenic screening list.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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