Malta aims to extend IVF laws to help couples suffering medical complications; says Health Minister

The government of Malta proposed new amendments to the IVF law to deliver the election promise of amending the IVF laws within the first hundred days in office.

The government is looking forward further widening state-provided IVF services. The IVF law wants an individual to be eligible for IVF up till the age of 45 (rather than 42) and offers more IVF cycles for free, extending IVF to those who are already parents and are interested in egg donations and transfer of embryos from other countries.

Today is the final voting day of the newly proposed IVF law in Parliament. Whether the opposition parties will support the new amendments is unclear, but various NGOs have praised them.

Chris Fearne, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister of Malta said the government would allow the doctors to use the latest technologies to avoid the heartbreaking stories of babies born with certain conditions that would die in a few weeks.

“425 new lives were born out of IVF so far, and today we will continue to increase the opportunity for more new lives,” he said.

While addressing a press conference, Fearne said that the Labour party vowed to extend IVF services so more couples could attain the dream of becoming parents, including infertile couples.

Further, he said, the government aims to help couples who suffered from miscarriages, couples who ended unsuccessful IVF cycles, and couples with a history of medical complications.

Moreover, the law will extend the possibility of IVF to those who have already had a child through IVF so they can plan their next baby via IVF.

As a Health Minister, Chris Fearne has been serving the country since 2016. Fearne is extensively working to bolster the health sector of the country. He has taken various initiatives to improve the health conditions of the Maltese people.

Health Minister has been praised for his marvelous policies during COVID and encouraged the Maltese to attain the vaccine against the coronavirus.

The Maltese health system has made remarkable progress, improving avoidable mortality and low levels of unmet needs.

Apart from this, Deputy Prime Minister is the founder of the Malta Institute for Medical Education. The medical school offers a five-year MBBS curriculum in Malta.