It is not a coincidence that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his predecessor Alfred Sant chose to speak about unborn children on the same weekend.

Last Sunday, Dr Muscat flagged a story in Maltatoday claiming that he is resolute to introduce embryo freezing while, a day later, in his blog on The Malta Independent news portal, former Prime Minister and Labour MEP Alfred Sant said he is in favour of abortion when the mother's life is in danger.

Pro-life groups were quick to point out that embryo freezing was tantamount to bringing Malta "on the cusp" of legalising abortion. They interpreted the Prime Minister's words as putting undue pressure for the law to be changed in this direction. Not so long ago, before the end of the last legislature, embryo freezing had been banned, a move Dr Muscat said he agreed with at the time as a form of compromise. Now that he is the PM, he will push forward with the idea of introducing the concept.

Dr Muscat has proven himself to be very liberal with regard to civil rights. Among the Labour government's first moves was the introduction of civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, together with the possibility for them to adopt children. There are now plans to legalise pornography and sex shops, while it will soon no longer be a crime to vilify religion.

Observers point out that the idea to remove the ban on embryo freezing came "out of the blue" in an attempt by the Prime Minister to shift attention away from the scandals his government has been embroiled in for the past months, and generate debate on what will be a hot topic, given its sensitivity. Knowing that the Nationalist Party is always at a loss with liberal groups on such issues, it could be that the PM also wants to create instability in the PN on the eve of the Independence celebrations, a much more refined approach when compared to Dom Mintoff's efforts to disrupt such celebrations back in the 80s.

This may be true, but it is also a known fact that Dr Muscat has always been at the forefront on such issues, and when it comes to civil rights, the government has been successful in implementing its ideas. 

What is arguable is the way Dr Muscat is imposing his thoughts on the members on the inter-ministerial commission entrusted with reviewing the Embryo Protection Act. The PM's public comments could serve as a PR smoke screen in preparation to what the committee is about to announce. Dr Muscat's position has also been made clear to the MPs who will eventually vote in Parliament, and so far, only Marlene Farrugia has expressed herself openly against the PM's wishes. We doubt she will get the support of others. This is a repeat of the divorce campaign and the civil union bill when those against on the Labour camp found themselves isolated into silence. The PM has become quite predictable when adopting such strategies.      

The Nationalist Party has challenged the government to make its position clear, so that it, in turn, may study it and announce its own. Speaking with our sister paper The Malta Independent Daily, the PN leader told the Prime Minister that he had a duty to inform people of exactly what is going on.

But the ultimate question that needs to be asked is this. Malta has made great strides forward in what is described as being "progressive", a term which is dear to Joseph Muscat. And so it is pertinent to ask where this is leading us.

• Do we really need to update our fresh IVF legislation to legalise embryo freezing?
• Shouldn't we first see some statistics on the success rate the new legislation has brought about, if any? What are we comparing the success rate with? It has to be said that there is not much to go on, given that this practice was never regularised before.
• How many embryos will be frozen and what is the future of those that are not implanted to continue life?
• Will we legalise embryo adoption?
• And if that is the PM's ultimate goal, then is he contemplating legalising surrogacy both for heterosexual and gay couples?
• Does the PM intend to legislate in favour of embryo destruction once the couple or a judge decides to dispose of them?

• Will we face the never-ending debate of 'at what stage does life begin'?

Abortion has so far been a no-go area in the local political scenario. But what has happened this past week can be seen a move towards it. The door may not yet have been opened, but the government's hand is on the handle.