Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms Rebecca Buttigieg said that the government received more than 15,000 submissions during its two-month public consultation on assisted voluntary euthanasia, but not one came from the PN.

Buttigieg was replying to a parliamentary question by PL MP Davina Sammut Hili, where she said that the public consultation attracted a significant level of engagement, however the PN failed to contribute to the subject.

She said that out of the 15,000 and more submissions, not one came from the Nationalist Party.

Buttigieg said that while some individual PN MPs expressed their personal views, the party has not taken an official position and questioned what the PN’s position on such an important issue is.

She also said that government is preparing a draft bill to introduce the concept of the “living will” into Maltese law, describing it as one of the most well-received proposals during the consultation.

“The living will was one which we received a lot of positive feedback on, and we are working to introduce a draft bill on this new right,” Buttigieg said.

On the living will, Buttigieg said that even if this includes a request for euthanasia, such instructions would be subject to any legal requirements in place at the time and not override the law, acting as a statement of intent rather than an automatic entitlement.