Proposed national conference on womb ecology ‘to raise awareness, other developments remain to be seen’

● Malta Unborn Child Movement pushes for ‘national policy’ on womb ecology

Head of the Malta Unborn Child Movement Anthony Mifsud said that the point of the proposed national conference on womb ecology is to raise awareness on factors that could have adverse effects to the foetus while inside its mother’s womb.

The scope behind womb ecology, he explained, is that the very first environment a person encounters is that of inside the mother’s womb. The group bases its ethos on the works of Dr Thomas Verny, who specialises in ‘prenatal and perinatal psychology’; however there are a number of international groups that are also conducting further research in this field.

When asked whether the scope behind hosting such a conference is to raise awareness or to achieve changes in national law, he said that at this stage, the aim is to educate however any “developments remain to be seen”.

Mr Mifsud stressed that this is would not be the first conference of this kind, adding that there have been ten so far however this one would look at the definition of the environment in a wider way to include the womb as well as the Petri dish, which is a foetus’ first environment when conceived through Intro-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).

The proposal for this national conference has received support by the Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia, Government Whip Godfrey Farrugia and Shadow Whip David Agius.

Despite maintaining that the goal at this stage is to raise awareness, in Mr Mifsud’s address of Parliament he encouraged Malta’s highest institute to “widen the meaning of the concept of the environment to include the very first environment experienced by people, the mother’s womb. We should also move towards a national policy regarding womb ecology”.

In his address, Mr Mifsud “proposed” and “urged” Parliament for Malta to become the “Centre for Womb Ecology of the Mediterranean”.

“Much evidence exists that inappropriate use of abuse of alcohol, drugs and tobacco by parents of a child while it is in the mother’s womb as well as before, (presumably meaning around the time of conception) causes physical, mental and emotional harm to the baby while it is in the mother’s womb... the same can happen when the parents of the foetus inside the mother’s womb are exposed to chemicals and toxic substances at the work place.”

The Parliamentary address by Mr Mifsud goes on to say that there is scientific evidence showing how a mother’s stress leads to the foetus’ heart beating at a faster pace.

The address failed to mention the negative effects on the foetus when for whichever reason, the mother does not want to be pregnant. When asked about this, Mr Mifsud conceded that a mother who is pregnant against her wishes causes developmental harm to the foetus, adding that currently counselling is offered in such cases and lastly that this aspect of womb ecology will also be delved into.

When the proposal was presented in Parliament at the outset, it appeared as though measures on what the mother should and should not be doing would be exclusively delved into. This sparked heavy criticism from those championing feminist rights, in view of the fact that females appeared to be targeted and that men can also change their habits to ensure better quality semen.

When questioned about this, Mr Mifsud, government whip Farrugia and PN speaker for family and social issues Clyde Puli said that this was not the case, and agreed that the encompassing of education and awareness for both men and woman should be included when talking about quality of life of a foetus in the womb.

Examples included making people aware that drinking and using drugs while trying to impregnate a partner or trying to become pregnant can have adverse effects, or a father smoking around his pregnant wife is not ideal due to health reasons.

On the possibility of legislative change, Government Whip Farrugia said in his opinion any changes could be limited to the way the environment is defined at law, to include the womb and the Petri dish.

Mr Puli said: “As a matter of principle the Nationalist Party is in favour of protecting life from conception as already reflected in Maltese legislation including The Embryo Protection Act of 2012. The PN remains open to listen and discuss any suggestions on how these principles can be improved further in practice.

“The Nationalist Party is not aware of any proposed legislation in the pipeline but looks forward to the proposed conference about the subject being organized by Civil Society in conjunction with Parliament.”

On the proposal for a national conference, Speaker Farrugia said “The right to life is enshrined in local and international law, however the definition of a human person lacks any reference to unborn children.”

This, he explained, means that they are the most vulnerable kind of person. “In Malta there is general agreement that human life starts at conception.”