European permit allows morning-after pill to be imported, Muscat says

Any importer who wants to start importing the morning-after pill covered by a European permit is free to do so and the government cannot stop it unless new legislation is enacted, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this evening.

Asked for his position on emergency contraception during a session of the government-that-listens campaign, Muscat said that a morning-after pill was covered by a Europe-wide licence and any importer who was interested in importing it to Malta could not be stopped.

A ban would only take place if parliament were to enact "new drachonian legislation not based on science", the Prime Minister added.

Muscat, who said that he didn’t want to delve into the morality of the discussion, said the government will be referring the discussion on licensing emergency contraception to a number of parliamentary committees, including the family and health committees.

“The government does not want to rush in its decision and the discussion will be referred to the various parliamentary committees. It is important that an informed decision is taken, and facts are made known,” Muscat said.

“I am not here to be moral about it and I’ve asked the Medicines Authority for their version and I was surprised by what we learnt.”

As the Women Rights Foundation has been saying, Muscat conceded that women in Malta are already being given other pills which have the same effect to emergency contraception. The authority also informed Muscat’s Cabinet that claims that manufacturers were being forced to drop claims that the morning-after pill prevents implantation as this has not been scientifically proven.

“Beyond the moral and ethical questions, there is a clear status and everyone needs to know these facts,” he said.

High-rise: Permits will be plan-based

While the Planning Authority’s decision to turn down a development application at Hondoq ir-Rummien, effectively bringing to an end a 14-year saga, calls have now been made for the Planning Authority to review Gozo’s local plan to exclude Hondoq from any ‘tourism and marine related uses’.

Paul Buttigieg, who represented the Qala council on the Planning Authority Board, urged Muscat to review the local plan, echoes calls made earlier today by Front Harsien ODZ.

Muscat, who did not commit himself to reviewing the plan, said that the “lesson learnt” from the rejection of Hondoq’s application was that this administration “takes decisions”. He reiterated, that the government should be judged on the decisions taken and not the applications put forward.

“I’ve had enough of all the conspiracy theories,” Muscat said.

Turning to high-rises, Muscat reiterated that doing away with tall buildings would mean that one should continue building the little empty spaces left on the island. On the other hand, he said, high-rises would also allow for wide-open spaces.

“Paceville is the place attracting most attention and it will be the first place to actually have a masterplan. We will see what the experts and the public have to say and bring together the interest being shown in the area and their combined impact.”

Muscat said that the studies would delve into the impact of shadows, the sewage system, the impact of traffic and so forth. The permits, he insisted, will be based on the masterplan.

Bullying ‘not an excuse’ for homeschooling

While a new law that will reform Malta’s Education Act will allow parents to engage warranted teachers to homeschool their children, Muscat insisted that the individual circumstances of the child will be taken into consideration before it is allowed.

“Bullying will not be an excuse for homeschooling … if anything, we would be making things worse if we allow bullied children to stay at home,” Muscat said, adding that he believed that a bullied child should socialize even more.

He went on to urge the public and professionals to take part in the public consultation.

The proposed law says that minors who are in poor health, have a serious illness or condition and cannot attend school will be eligible to be homeschooled, as well as those minors whose parents are only temporarily working or residing in Malta.