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Spain cabinet approves draft bill expanding abortion rights

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Spain's Cabinet approved a draft bill Thursday that would liberalize Spanish abortion law. The new bill, which must now be approved by Parliament, would give women the right to an abortion any time during the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy. During the next eight weeks an abortion would be allowed only if two doctors determined that there is a serious risk to the woman's health or a serious risk of fetal malformation. After 22 weeks an abortion would be allowed only if a panel of doctors agree that the fetus faces severe health hazards. Parts of the new bill mirror the March proposals of a panel of legal and medical experts. Under current Spanish law, abortions are illegal except in cases of rape, fetal malformation, or danger to the mother's health. Spain's bill comes one day after Germany's parliament approved a bill heightening requirements for late-term abortions. The panel's proposals sparked protests in Madrid in March. The panel tasked with investigating changes to Spanish abortion law was formed in September at the request of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as part of a series of social reforms including the legalization of same-sex marriage and streamlined divorce proceedings. Since the committee was formed, the conservative Popular Party has repeatedly expressed the opinion that relaxed abortion laws would stand in opposition to Article 15 of the Spanish Constitution, which guarantees the right to life.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 14, 2009 (boomark / email).