Iona Napier
ABORTION rights are today being debated in Spanish parliament after at least three PP politicians declared themselves against new ‘mini’ reforms.
Reform bills would make parental permission necessary for 16 and 17-year-olds seeking abortion.
Jose Eugenio Azpiroz, Javier Puente and Lourdes Mendez consider the changes insufficient and bizarrely minor for such a tough law, and want to crack down harder on abortion.
Mendez said: “I am not going to vote for the reform because it constitutes a step towards the right to free, legal abortion which is in direct opposition to the ideology and the election programme of the PP.”
By rocking the debate at this decisive stage, the Government changes will likely render written consent necessary for the parents of 16 and 17-year-olds – if they change the ‘Aido’ law at all.
After Mariano Rajoy scrapped election promise-related plans to limit abortion to cases of rape or serious risk to the mother’s health in September, the debate rages on with the latest anti-abortion rally in March.
Abortion, legal in Spain since 1985, can be carried out in the first 14 weeks of a woman’s pregnancy as opposed to up to 24 weeks in the UK.
