Ben Pawlowski
SPAIN’S prime minister Pedro Sanchez has floated the idea of making abortion a part of the nation’s constitution amid fears that a future right-wing government would move to restrict women’s reproductive rights.
The idea comes just days after a bitter political row broke out in Madrid over a proposal backed by the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and far-right Vox which would have required women considering an abortion to be made aware of so-called ‘post-abortion depression’ – a pseudo-scientific syndrome with no medical backing.
In response, Sanchez accused the PP of ‘merging with the far-right’.
“That’s their choice,” the socialist premier said on X. “They can do so, but not at the expense of women’s freedoms and rights.”
READ MORE: Backlash in Madrid as Vox pushes ‘pseudoscience warnings’ on women seeking an abortion
He added: “For that reason, we are going to prevent the provision of misleading or anti-scientific information about abortion […] and bring to parliament a proposal to constitutionalise the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, in line with the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court.
“With this government, on social rights, not one step back.”
A government source, quoted in Spanish media, said the measure ‘would block any future rollback that threatens women’s rights’, adding: “In a global context of pushback on sexual and reproductive rights, Spain is taking a step forward to enshrine women’s freedoms and autonomy.”
Whether the proposal will see the light of day is an entirely different question.
In order to become part of Spain’s constitution, the amendment would have to be approved by a three-fifths majority in both the Congress and Senate.
Failing that, the amendment could pass if it garnered the support of over two-thirds of Congress – although that is highly unlikely given Sanchez’s government’s minority status.
That route would also require the backing of the PP, who have accused the prime minister of using the topic of abortion as a distraction from internal struggles – such as allegations of corruption levied against his wife, brother and former right-hand man.
READ MORE: Abortions in Spain rose by 3% in 2024 with women under 20 accounting for a tenth of terminations
“Whenever he needs to cover up his corruption problems, he uses sensitive issues to try to create a smokescreen,” said Juan Bravo, the PP’s deputy secretary during an interview with RNE.
Bravo sought to firmly reject the idea of constitutional reform, saying that abortion is ‘not a right’, but rather a regulated medical procedure.
Currently, abortion in Spain is legal upon request up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, and at later stages in cases of risk to the life or health of the women or serious fetal defects.
Abortion was briefly liberalised during the 1930s under the Second Spanish Republic before reforms were reversed during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
The procedure was decriminalised 40 years ago under the premiership of socialist Felipe Gonzalez, before further reforms were passed in 2010 under Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The number of abortions in Spain rose last year by around 3% to 106,172.
Women aged under 20 accounted for nearly 11% of terminations.
The abortion rate currently stands at 12.36 per 1,000 women aged between 15 and 44 years of age.
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