Parliament rises for summer recess

The Maltese parliament rose for its summer recess, although parliamentary committees might still continue to meet.

The last session took place this afternoon – for 20 minutes – before Economy Minister Chris Cardona adjourned the House for Monday 10 October.

The House’s final act before its summer break was approving to transfer a property in St John's Street, Valletta, to the Fortunato and Nerik Mizzi Foundation on a 30-year emphyteusis. The house, once belonging to the political giants, is set to become a political museum.

Meanwhile, MPs sitting on the social affairs committee, the health committee and the family affairs committee will be convening this evening at 6.45pm to continue discussing the introduction of the morning-after pill. A report will then be drafted and presented to parliament.

Doctors appearing before the committee have called for the setting up of another committee to analyse whether to green light the importation of the morning-after pill.

Malta is the only EU country where emergency contraception such as Levonelle and ellaOne is not available whilst doctors take the roundabout way of prescribing Esmya, normally used for uterine fibroids.

An attempt to import the emergency contraceptive Levonelle in 2006 was blocked by the bioethics committee, a consultative committee of scientists, priests and other political appointees, despite the go-ahead of the Medicines Authority.

And although Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has stated that there was nothing that the government could do to stop the importation of the morning-after pill – with the exception of new legislation which, in his words, would be “draconian" – Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli said granting a licence rested solely on the Medicines Authority.

According to the World Health Organisation, emergency contraception is “effective only in the first few days following intercourse, before the ovum is released from the ovary and before the sperm fertilizes the ovum”.