Spanish Senate Approves Less Restrictive Abortion Law

February 25, 2010 – The Spanish Senate yesterday rejected the Catholic Bishops and the Vatican’s opposition to safe and legal abortion by voting to ease the country’s restrictions on abortion.

The new law recognizes a woman’s right to an abortion, legalizes the procedure up to 14 weeks gestation and allows 16- and 17-year-olds to have abortions without parental consent.

In a statement released by Catholics for Choice, Marysa Navarro-Aranguren, Chair of the Board of Catholics for Choice, said, “The Spanish government has done the right thing in liberalizing the abortion law. There is widespread support in the country for reform. Despite the best efforts of the Catholic bishops to argue otherwise, Catholic politicians know that you can support access to abortion and continue to be a good Catholic.”

According to a recent poll by Catholics for Choice: 62% of Spaniards say that abortion generally should be legal during the first trimester of pregnancy; 68% of Spaniards disagree with the bishops’ opposition to abortion; 87% believe abortion should be legal when a pregnancy poses a serious threat to a woman’s life; 86% believe it should be legal when it poses a serious threat to a woman’s physical or mental health or is the result of rape or incest (82%).

The new law will take affect in June 2010.

Click here to read a summary of the new law by the Guttmacher Institute.

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