The majority of members of the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) have distanced themselves with the official position taken by the CRPD on the IVF law.
With reference to the position taken by CRPD on Thursday 9 June 2022 regarding the proposed emendments to the IVF law, we, as members on the Council of the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability would like to disassociate ourselves from the stance taken by the Commission, the statement said. The official position of the CRPD was never discussed with the Council members as had been promised, the members said.
Such a position is seriously undermining all the efforts of the disabled people's movement in Malta in the past few decades to introduce the social model of disability which places the responsibility of disablement also on the barriers found in society and the environment.
Through such stances, we are reverting to the medical model of disability, which only considers the biological impairment of a person with disability thus putting the responsibility solely on the individual.
By choosing to discard embryos with genetic impairments, we are assuming that the life of someone with an impairment is not worth living. Who is to tell, or indeed predict, what one's life will be like at that stage? The emphasis here is only on the 'burden' or the 'suffering' of a person who has an impairment. How can prospective parents make an informed choice if they are only presented with the negative consequences of an impairment? Indeed, there is much more to the life of a person who has a disability.
Apart from the above, this position in favour of the amendments to the IVF legislation will indirectly increase intolerance towards people with genetic conditions who are already born, i.e. because they should have been eliminated at an earlier stage. Are human beings to be valued according to their genotype? Who will decide which conditions should go on the list or not? Where will we draw the line?
Instead of discarding 'imperfect' embryos, we should be focusing on providing more support services, genetic counselling, a barrier-free environment, and a more equal and inclusive society that is free from such assumptions. People with disabilities can also contribute much to society if provided with the right support and opportunities - but they have to be given a chance to live first!
The statement was signed by Maryrose Attard, Lourdes Farrugia, Carmen Grech, Dr Maria Victoria Gauci, Marchita Mangiafico, Fr Martin Micallef, Carmen Muscat, Marthese Mugliette, Rita Vella, Loran Xuereb and Amy Camilleri Zahra.