José Ignacio Munilla, the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, has asked voters to withdraw support for both the Popular Party (PP) and its current leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, due to the party’s reaction to the Constitutional Court ruling that endorses the abortion law and that revokes the appeal filed 13 years ago by the PP itself.
The PP appealed against the legislation in June 2010, stating that a woman could abort if she had been raped, if her life was in danger or due to malformations of the fetus.
But last week, the leader of the Partido Popular withdrew the appeal because the “feeling and sensitivity of the Spanish people” has changed.
For the prelate, the decision taken Feb. 9 by the Constitutional Court on the abortion law in force in Spain is summed up simply: “There are human beings who do not have human rights. It’s the obvious conclusion.”
On his Radio Maria programme ‘Sixth Continent’, Bishop Munilla, speaks of the “total and utter betrayal” of the PP “to the cause of life.” He questions how someone with a “right conscience” can vote for the Popular Party that has embraced this law on the right to abortion.
The court’s decision was surrounded by controversy because at least four out of 11 of the justices possibly should have excluded themselves because of previous positions they held in government. If these judges had done so, the court would have lacked the quorum to address the appeal.
