State should guide and assist but not get involved in family matters - Muscat

The IVF bill launched a few days ago did not reflect the report on which consensus had been reached in the House of Representatives, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said this morning. Speaking in a debate with young people on a Google Hangout, streamed live on YouTube and during which he was questioned on a wide array of subjects, Dr Muscat said that the PL did not want to shoot from the hip and base its reaction on emotion so it was analysing the draft presented to see how feasible it was. It would then state its position in Parliament. Labour, however, believed that the state should be there to guide and assist and not to get involved in family matters. He noted that when IVF was discussed in Parliament’s select committee, there had also been a wide debate on cancer patients. And although the professionals in the sector were doing a lot of good, psychological assistance had to be placed on a  stronger  footing. Dr Muscat had been asked whether Labour would consider setting up a sperm bank in Malta to benefit cancer patients who  may become infertile after treatment. The possibility of sperm banking was immediately offered to people diagnosed to be suffering from cancer in the UK, it...