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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 APRIL 2014 News 4 MATTHEW VELLA FORMER Prime Minister Law- rence Gonzi has come out in de- fence of Opposition leader Simon Busuttil's stance to abstain on a civil unions bill that accorded the right to same-sex couples in a un- ion, to adopt children. His declaration – stating that the PN parliamentary group "could never go along" with this part of the law because "there is no right to adoption" – is in contrast to com- ments he gave in the 2013 elections to MaltaToday, where he seemed open to the idea of gay people adopting if they are vetted by social workers. "The main interest is that of the children," he told MaltaToday in 2013. "The experts' assessment in an adoption should be built on the children's interest. I know of situations where spouses who had children together, broke up be- cause one of them was gay, and that now these children are now being brought up by a gay family. This is a reality happening today 'on the ground'. "So I think that in this case, we Gonzi defends PN abstention on civil unions to plays abortion card Labour forced into strong denial over PN and Gonzi claims 'Government not categorically against abortion' – Busuttil Finance and economy ministers come under fire from Opposition leader TIM ATTARD MONTALTO OPPOSITION leader Simon Busut- til has insisted that a denial by the government that a debate on abor- tion laws was not on the cards, was not as categorical as government has claimed to be. Busuttil was commenting on an opinion piece penned by former PN leader Lawrence Gonzi, who set out on a defence of Busuttil's party's ab- stention during a parliamentary vote on civil unions that also accorded gay couples the right to adopt children. Gonzi has claimed that an "abortion debate" could be next on the political agenda. "What Gonzi said is his own pre- rogative," Busuttil said when asked by MaltaToday why the party appeared keen to bring abortion into the po- litical debate when all major parties have been categorically against abor- tion. "I refer you to Helena Dalli's comments yesterday in which she said that abortion was not part of the government's plans 'at this point in time'. This shows that the govern- ment was not as categorically against it as it previously claimed." Busuttil also laid into the govern- ment's economic track record, which showed that unemployment figures were up from last year. Dubbing min- ister for the economy Chris Cardona "conspicuous by his absence" and finance minister Edward Scicluna "conspicuous by his gaffes", Busut- til said that unemployment figures would be even higher had the govern- ment not recruited people to work in government posts. On a separate topic, Busuttil was asked whether he had placed party politics ahead of the rights of the LGBT community in the recent par- PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD PAGE 1 According to Opposi- tion leader Simon Busuttil, the government was not categorical against abortion; according to the former PN leader Lawrence Gonzi, the f loodgates were now open. "I categorically deny that me or this government will intro- duce abortion," Muscat said this evening. Gonzi has also said that his statements on gay adoption were being quoted "in a manner that is unacceptable to me and to the values I have championed all my life." Gonzi 's comments have been repeatedly used in the adoption- by-gay-couples debate as showing that he had never argued against adoption by gay couples. Muscat has however rejected the suggestion that Gonzi 's com- ments were being misinterpreted in any way. "I remember his declarations very clearly and I agreed that adoption should not be based on the sexual orientation of the pro- spective parents. The only dif- ference is that Gonzi may have changed his position or is inter- preting differently what he said," the PM added. Muscat insisted that his own position was consistent. In a statement earlier today, the government said it was "strongly" against abortion, the ministry for civil liberties reiterated. The ministry's comments fol- lowed statements by the Oppo- sition which raised questions on the government's allegedly dubi- ous stand on abortion. The issue of abortion arose again this week, after parliament voted on the civil unions legis- lation and the parties launched their electoral campaigns for the European Parliament elections. "The government is consistent- ly and categorical against abor- tion," the ministry said, accusing the leader of the Opposition of deceiving the public. Busuttil has insisted that a de- nial by the government that a de- bate on abortion laws was not on the cards, was not as categorical as government has claimed to be. Busuttil was commenting on an opinion piece penned by former PN leader Lawrence Gonzi, who set out on a defence of Busuttil 's part y's abstention during a par- liamentary vote on civil unions that also accorded gay couples the right to adopt children. Gonzi has claimed that an "abortion debate" could be next on the political agenda adding that he was yet to be convinced that abortion was not a possibili- t y under the Labour government. "With its scaremongering tac- tics, the Opposition is mixing is- sues to satisf y its purely puerile and partisan arguments. The La- bour Part y, both in government and opposition, was and is con- sistently against the introduction of abortion in Malta," the civil liberties ministry replied. Lawrence Gonzi: "Couples don't have a right to adopt. It is only children who have a right to be adopted by the best possible parents" Simon Busuttil (left): "What Gonzi said is his own prerogative"

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