MADRID’S mayor has stated that ‘post-abortion depression syndrome’ is ‘not a classified science category’, after Vox demanded pregnant women be given mandatory information about the possible impacts of undergoing an abortion.
Madrid mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida’s reversal comes just one day after the Partido Popular, his party, approved a proposal on Wednesday which was led by far-right party Vox.
This proposal would require women who are considering having an abortion to be informed about supposed facts not supported by science.
Vox’s proposal asked for municipal employees to explain to pregnant women the alleged consequences of abortion such as the ‘consumption of alcohol and drugs (…) suicidal thoughts (…) increase in cancers in the female reproductive system’.
READ MORE: Abortions in Spain rose by 3% in 2024 with women under 20 accounting for a tenth of terminations
The text of the approved motion called for the provision of information in a ‘mandatory, verbal and written, permanent and visible way, about the post-abortion syndrome, in the public service centres of Madrid Salud, Espacios de Igualdad/CIAM, Samur Social and social workers of the Madrid City Council, and for it to be included in the ‘official websites of these organisations, in posters and brochures in the aforementioned areas’.
Despite the fact that both the PP and Vox initially approved the proposal, Almeida soon backtracked following a backlash, stating that ‘no one doubts that women are mature enough to receive the information they deem appropriate, no woman is going to be forced to receive information.’
Current state laws on sexual and reproductive health specify that any information regarding the possible effects of undergoing an abortion must be voluntary and required by the woman.
The mayor also added that the PP ‘[agrees] with Vox simply that information must be provided. It’s a different thing how Vox argues and the PP argues it’, referring to the alleged ‘post-abortion syndrome’ Vox had vocalised.
Almeida said that any information provided to women will be voluntary and will not be ‘determined by Vox’ but rather ‘by the professionals of the Madrid City Council’.
He also made clear that any information provided to women who consider having an abortion will not be mandatory but voluntary, as currently is by law.
The state sexual and reproductive health law of March 2023 stated that pregnant women who want to have an abortion will only be able to receive information if they request it.
Article 17 makes explicit that information on contraception, counselling centres and public aid may be given ‘in cases in which women require it, and never as a requirement to access the provision of the service’.
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