All amendments to the marriage equality act proposed by the Opposition were turned down today by Parliament’s Committee for the Consideration of Bills.

The amendments mainly dealt with the terminology and called for the retainment of the terms mother and father.

PN deputy leader Mario de Marco said the Opposition did not want to water down the Bill because it was in favour of terminology that promoted equality but believed that there should be a choice instead of a blanket uniform definition.

Minister Dalli said she did not agree with the choice as proposed by the Opposition because the government believed in gender neutral terms. “This is not a supermarket,” she said.

The committee also discussed the genetic testing process with Attorney General Peter Paul Grech saying that the DNA test was the most foolproof test to establish paternity.

The debate will continue tomorrow.