Feijóo will try to settle this Wednesday the internal debate in the PP on abortion after his support for the law of deadlines

In 'Génova' they assure that abortion "is not a right" and highlight that within the PP, as in society, there are "many sensitivities"

MADRID, 14 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will try to settle this Wednesday the internal debate that has been opened these days within the party on abortion after his public support for the deadline system upon learning of the decision of the Constitutional Court that endorses the approved law by the Government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in 2010 and that the PP appealed to the guarantee court.

This Tuesday, when expressly asked if he considers that abortion is a right or not, Feijóo has evaded this matter and has only ruled on the order of the Supreme Court that confirms the disqualification of the former vice president of the Generalitat Oriol Junqueras, a decision that, In his opinion, he credits the "legal ridicule" of the Government of Pedro Sánchez with his penal reform of sedition and embezzlement.

"Tomorrow I have a press conference, another one, and I will answer you again on that matter and on the one you want," Feijóo said in relation to abortion. Sources from the national leadership of the PP have referred to that appearance, although they already emphasize that abortion "is not a right."

This was publicly transferred this Monday by the spokesman for the PP campaign committee, Borja Sémper, after criticism from the most conservative sector of the party for Feijóo's support for the deadline system. "We have not spoken at any time that abortion is a right ", he said, to add that the Popular Party "defends life as a fundamental axis".

Feijóo will appear before the media after a visit to the Ronald McDonald House in Madrid, located next to the Niño Jesús University Hospital, which offers free accommodation to families who come to the capital so that their sons or daughters receive medical treatment.

The party has spent several days in an internal debate over the statements made by Feijóo last Friday assuring that a "well-constructed" deadline law seems "correct" to him and is in line with the legislation of other European countries.

His words have provoked criticism in the most conservative sector of the PP, such as those of former minister Jorge Fernández Díaz or the NEOS platform led by former minister Mayor Oreja. The latter has indicated that "granting abortion the consideration of law is a definitive leap."

Several signatories of the PP's appeal against the abortion law consulted by Europa Press also expressed their "outrage" on Friday at Feijóo's public support for the deadline system and accused him of "following" the left, stressing that this position was distances itself from what was approved in the XVIII Congress of the PP, which states that abortion "should not be understood as a right". In addition, they warned that this step could cause a leak of votes to Vox.

The criticism has been joined by voices such as the Bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, José Ignacio Munilla, who has accused the PP of "betrayal" of the cause of life "totally and absolutely" for accepting the Abortion Law after the ruling of the Constitutional

Abortion has always provoked debate in the ranks of the PP and this was seen in that XVIII Congress in 2017, to which numerous amendments were presented. In the end, the social paper was approved in that conclave in these terms: "The PP is firmly committed to the defense and protection of the right to life. That is why we consider that abortion should not be understood as a right but as a failure of the society".

Faced with the open debate, the leadership of the PP tried on Tuesday to close the controversy. The general coordinator of the PP and campaign director of the 28M, Elias Bendodo, has assured from Santander that the PP "is not a monolithic party" and "it widens its social base more every day." In his opinion, "all opinions fit."

In the same way, the PP spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies, Cuca Gamarra, has admitted that in the PP, as in Spanish society, there are "many sensitivities" in relation to abortion and that those of some like those of the others". In addition, she has affirmed that the current abortion law has been in force for more than a decade and "assumed by Spanish society" despite the fact that it includes some issues that the popular do not share.

For his part, the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has assured that the position of the PP regarding abortion has already been defined by the president of the PP and has denied "giving bait to the left so that it continues fueling a sterile controversy on a very complicated subject."