Pullicino Orlando says politicians cannot give in to clergy on IVF, cohabitation law

Backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando claimed that the delay of IVF and Cohabitation laws was due to politicians pandering to the wishes of the Church.

"The political class should not pander to the Church's wishes," Pullicino Orlando said.

This is not the first time that the divorce bill promoter has hit out at members of the Church for their stand against divorce, IVF or cohabitation.

Recently on Facebook, Pullicino Orlando had said that the Gozo Bishop had "absolutely no right to encourage discrimination".

He had been referring to comments made by Bishop Grech that "families are built on a relationship based on marriage between a man and a woman, where there is lifelong commitment with the aim to love and procreate, raise and educate children".

Addressing the press marking one year since the divorce referendum, the co-founder of the Yes movement voiced his concern over NaproTechnology, insisting that it was nothing but a repackaging of natural family planning.

Producing a can of baked beans, Pullicino Orlando said that using the term NaproTechnology as if it were some scientific breakthrough was more or less the same as using a can of beans and referring to it as some [fazola] technology. There's nothing technological about it. NaproTechnology is just a stronger term for family planning, meant to lead people into believing it is some scientific breakthrough.

"Gozitans were being treated as fools when Health Minister Joe Cassar and Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono introduced NaproTechnology to Gozitans," Pullicino Orlando said.

"NaproTechnology was nothing more than family planning the way we have known it for years."

Pullicino Orlando was quoting Prof. Pierre Mallia's words, the ethics advisor to the Medical Council, who had said that the Catholic repackaging of what is normal and health family planning "takes a ride on Catholic teaching to have a technology which competes with IVF".

Pullicino Orlando added that the political class should not pander to the clergy's demands or wishes, simply because the clergy didn't agree with certain issues like IVF, cohabitation and same-sex marriages.

"Justice Minister Chris Said had stated that a cohabitation bill had to become law in June. Yet, nothing has been discussed at Cabinet level, let alone its implementation. A law regulating IVF was also promised by the Prime Minister last year," Pullicino Orlando said.

He added that despite the lack of a legal framework, couples were still undergoing "IVF in private clinics. He also questioned the filibustering of implementing a law when this was being carried out just the same.

"An IVF law would truly protect the embryo."

Also present for the conference were co-founders Deborah Schembri and Evarist Bartolo. AD chairperson Michael Briguglio was not present despite his role as a co-founder.

According to current divorce law, a couple had to be separated for four years to be able to obtain a divorce, however a divorce decree wouldn't go through if a divorce applicant hadn't paid the required maintenance to his spouse, unless all the arrears were paid at one go.

"This is a divorce guarantee which we had fought for and which is now bearing fruit," Schembri said.

Labour MP Evarist Bartolo meanwhile said that the divorce law was working well, pointing out that the experts who initially opposed the introduction of divorce also played a vital role since the negative aspects of divorce they had highlighted helped make the law even more realistic.

"I have been in many homes and nobody ever told me that the introduction of divorce had in actual fact damaged their family, contrary to what was advised by certain individuals prior to its introduction. Furthermore, the families I have spoken to said that the introduction of divorce was a positive move.

"The majority of MP's had respected the voters' decision, except for the obstinate few," Bartolo said.