Asked About Abortion, Euthanasia And IVF, Bernard Grech Says PN Shouldn’t Tell People How To Live Their Lives
Nationalist Party Leader Bernard Grech has indicated his party might be ready to relax its hostile opposition to abortion and euthanasia and potentially even welcome upcoming IVF amendments.
In a combative mode, Grech appeared on Xtra this week for an interview that mostly focused on the PN’s future following its latest electoral trashing and Grech’s recent admission that the party is some €32 million in debt.
However, towards the end, the PN leader was asked about the future o the party’s “values”.
“When it comes to issues like abortion, euthanasia and IVF, shouldn’t the PN be doing like other European Christian Democrat parties, expressing their beliefs but stating they cannot impose those beliefs on society?” Saviour Balzan asked him.
Grech responded as follows.
“The point of departure must change. We must all understand… I tried to do this but maybe I didn’t try enough… that we cannot keep thinking that we have a right to decide how people live their lives. I think this point of departure can help us understand better how to relate to the electorate through our policies.”
This is a significant shift from the draconian stance Grech took last November, when he warned that the party “will always remain against abortion” and that no pro-choice politician be allowed to represent or form part of the PN. However, he soon softened his stance and didn’t take any action against pro-choice politicians within his party.
On euthanasia, Grech said in March that the party will always be in favour of “life from birth until death”, while on IVF he has so far not taken a stance on the government’s proposal that would allow people to test embryos for genetic conditions prior to implantation.
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