PN leader disagrees with Salvu Mallia

Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil yesterday said that under his watch, the Nationalist Party will not be open to legislation on abortion and euthanasia.

He was replying to a Gift of Life statement, which reacted to a statement made by PN candidate Salvu Mallia who was reported to have said he is in favour of euthanasia and abortion, which he said were matters of a personal nature.

In their statement, which was not received by The Malta Independent, Gift of Life criticised the PN for not making it public that the party is against both abortion and euthanasia, describing Mr Mallia’s statements as disturbing.

In his statement, Dr Busuttil said: “I reiterate that under my leadership, the Nationalist Party will not be open to the legislation of abortion or euthanasia.

“Whilst having people in the party with different views is a strength that I welcome, the Party’s position on abortion and euthanasia will not change under my leadership.

“The same cannot be said on Joseph Muscat who is clearly flirting with the idea of introducing one or both should he win the next election.”

A number of PN MPs and officials who endorse the official position taken by the PN leader are uploading his statement on their Facebook pages.

In a reply on Facebook, Mr Mallia said that he and the party are in agreement on abortion, but not on euthanasia.

He said he believes that imposition leads to nowhere except that people will do things behind closed doors. He said that he believes that education will help.