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Thousands protest Spain abortion law changes

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

[JURIST] Thousands of Spaniards gathered Sunday to protest recently approved changes to Spain's abortion laws. Protesters marched in cities across Spain to protest the new law, which will allow abortion up to 14 weeks in most cases. Organizers in Madrid estimated that as many as 600,000 people took part in the protests. Pro-life activists urged the conservative Popular Party (PP) to make good on promises to seek the law's repeal. The new law, set to take effect on July 5, replaces the current law dating back to 1985, which allowed abortions only in the case of rape, up to 12 weeks, severe fetal malformation, up to 22 weeks, or if the woman's physical or mental health was in danger. The Spanish Senate gave final approval to the law last month. Spain's lower house of parliament, the Congress of Deputies, passed the bill in December after it received approval from the Council of State in September. In October, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied in Madrid in opposition to the proposed legislation. The changes were proposed last March by a panel of legal and medical experts led by Minister of Equality Bibiano Aido, eliciting widespread protests throughout Spain. The panel was formed in September 2008 at the request of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as part of a series of social reforms that have included same-sex marriage and streamlined divorce proceedings. The PP 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 March 08, 2010 (boomark / email).