Equal Opportunities Minister Helena Dalli could not be taken seriously after she was seen on video admitting that voters were misled, the Nationalist Party said today.

"Minister Dalli, by her own admission, and as evidenced (on video) blatantly admitted that the people were misled," Claudette Buttigieg, shadow minister for equal opportunities, and Claudio Grech, shadow minister on family affairs said in a statement.

They were referring to video of a conference on LGBTIQ rights in which the minister said that the people did not realise what the Labour Party intended because in its electoral programme of 2013 it only said it promised Equality (without specification). 

Helena Dalli laughs.

In view of such deception, the PN officials asked what the Muscat government was planning with regard to babies in the womb, more so after striking off protection in the domestic violence law.

Despite being questioned in parliament, Dr Dalli had continued to insist that the clause protecting the unborn babies of women who were victims of domestic violence should be removed, the shadow ministers said.  

In the media, Dr Dalli, following an appeal for an abortion debate, had said she was ready to discuss.  Here again, she was using equality, this time to push the debate on abortion. 

The clause protecting unborn babies in the Domestic Violence Bill should be retained, Ms Buttigieg and Mr Grech said.  

The Labour Party dismissed the PN statement as an attempt to discredit Dr Dalli, saying the PN was in effect "disrespecting" the victims of domestic violence when it claimed to be protecting unborn babies from abortion.

It said that the laws which criminalised abortion would not be affected by the Bill, stressing the Labour Party position against abortion was undisputed.

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