While they were going through hard times due to their expected baby’s health complications a Maltese couple have had to fight for what should rightfully be theirs.
The distraught couple, who had recently learned that their expected baby would need medical intervention as soon as it was born was put through further torture by the stance taken by the Department of Health.
It appears that the couple requested government financial assistance in order to travel to the United Kingdom for the operation, however when they submitted their request, it was turned down. The reason the Department of Health gave for this decision was that an unborn baby is not considered a human being in the eyes of the law.
For this reason the couple were going to be refused the financial assistance that every Maltese citizen is eligible for, and which is normally given, even, according to necessity, to foreign nationals living in Malta.
According to the Department of Health, because the baby was as yet unborn when the couple were due to travel, and was therefore not considered a person in the eyes of the law, the parents were not eligible for financial aid.
After pressure was put on the government by the Commissioner for Health, the Government conceded to paying for the baby’s return trip, without, however, giving any other financial aid to the parents. After further pressure was placed by the Commissioner, who argued that the parents’ return trip should also be covered by the Government, the Department of Health gave in, but only paid for the return trip.
The Government continued to argue that a baby in the womb is not considered a person and therefore refused to pay for the outward journey.
Chris Fearne, the Minister for Health, who considers a baby in the womb to be no more than 8 cells, published a statement criticising the Health Commissioner’s conclusions. This is the second time that Fearne has been in hot water this week, after Net News revealed last Sunday that a circular had been sent out which ordered the removal of crucifixes and other religious objects from Health Centres in our country. The Commissioner for Health, on his part, declared that he simply wanted the Government to make its position clear after its statement that a baby in the womb is not considered a person in the eyes of the law, and that therefore it has no rights.
