Spain: Progress reported in abortion law reform

The Equality Minister says she hopes to take the government’s planned reform of the Abortion Law to the next Cabinet meeting, after the Consejo de Estado accepted in September that the reforms are constitutional. 

They recommended, however, that parents should be involved if an underage girl wants to terminate her pregnancy unless there are well-founded reasons that would cause a serious conflict at home if her parents were informed.

The government proposes to allow unconditional abortion at 14 weeks from the age of 16 without parental consent, in a major overhaul of the current legislation which has been in place since 1988. The law currently states that abortion is only permitted in the case of rape, if the fetus is seriously deformed, or if there is a risk to the mother’s physical or mental health.

Minister Bibiana Aído said that, while she sees the draft bill as the ‘best of all the possibles’, greater consensus is needed if it is to be approved by parliament.

A protest march against the reforms has been announced in Madrid on 17 October, and the former Partido Popular Minister for the Interior, Jaime Mayor Oreja, has told Europa Press this weekend that he will be taking part.

Spain’s Equality Minister to take abortion reform to next Cabinet meeting. TypicallySpanish.com, 20 September 2009