1,000 babies were born thanks to Malta's IVF reform.
Health Ministry data confirm the figure. By January 2026 Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela reported 880 babies had been born through Malta's reformed IVF programme since the law came into force, with another 163 in gestation — a cumulative total of 1,043. The 2022 Embryo Protection (Amendment) Act widened access to IVF, legalised gamete donation, allowed embryo freezing and permitted pre-implantation genetic testing for serious hereditary conditions, and raised the IVF age limit from 43 to 48. 'Over 1,000 babies' fairly characterises the outcome on the Ministry's own count.
Health Ministry data confirm the figure. By January 2026 Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela reported 880 babies had been born through Malta's reformed IVF programme since the law came into force, with another 163 in gestation — a cumulative total of 1,043. The 2022 Embryo Protection (Amendment) Act widened access to IVF, legalised gamete donation, allowed embryo freezing and permitted pre-implantation genetic testing for serious hereditary conditions, and raised the IVF age limit from 43 to 48. 'Over 1,000 babies' fairly characterises the outcome on the Ministry's own count.
We tested the claim against the Maltese Ministry for Health's IVF-programme statistics, reported in January 2026, and the text of the Embryo Protection (Amendment) Act 2022 that came into force on 29 July 2022. The methodological question is whether the headline 1,000-babies figure is supported by the official data.
Verdict lands at True because the Ministry's own count puts the cumulative figure at 1,043 (880 born plus 163 in gestation) — comfortably consistent with the 'over 1,000' framing. The reform itself is documented in primary legislation. The deep-dive lays out the cumulative figure and the substantive content of the reform.
Did 1,000 babies really come from Malta's IVF reform
The Health Ministry's own count puts the figure comfortably above the round number Attard cites.
The 1,000-babies figure
Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela reported in January 2026 that 880 babies had been born through Malta's reformed IVF programme since the law came into force, with another 163 in gestation — a cumulative figure of 1,043. "Over a thousand babies" fairly characterises that number.
The reform itself — the Embryo Protection (Amendment) Act — came into force on 29 July 2022. It widened access to IVF, legalised gamete donation, allowed embryo freezing, and permitted pre-implantation genetic testing for serious hereditary conditions. The age limit for women undergoing IVF was raised from 43 to 48, and the law extended access beyond different-sex couples.
So is the claim accurate?
Yes. The 1,000-babies figure is a slight rounding-down of the cumulative 1,043 reported by the Health Ministry — 880 born plus 163 in gestation. The reform is documented in primary legislation.
Verdict: True.