Spain’s Lower House Approves New Bill Expanding Abortion Access
Spain’s lower house voted today to approve a piece of legislation that would dramatically alter status quo restrictions on abortion. Outside of the invasive stipulations that undermine young women’s autonomy, this new bill would allow women to terminate their pregnancy up to 14 weeks. According to Steven Ertelt,
The Spanish Parliament today approved legislation to legalize abortions through 14 weeks for any reason and 22 weeks in some additional cases. Abortions are allowed in Spain already and the measure makes legal abortions official and will likely expand their already-growing numbers.
More than 100,000 abortions are already done in Spain every year as abortion centers use the mental health aspect of the current law to authorize the abortions, even though research shows abortions present women with a plethora of mental health problems.
The cabinet of the Spain government, headed by President Rodriguez Zapatero, has proposed a bill that would expand abortions and legalize them up to the fourteenth week of pregnancy.
In November, the proposal was approved in its first stage as ruling party Socialist Party was joined by five smaller parties to back the abortion expansion on a narrow majority of 180 to 163.
Today, the vote in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies was 184-158 with one abstention, according to an AP report.
The measure now goes to the Senate, which is expected to approve the pro-abortion bill early next year.
Carmen Monton, the Socialists’ spokeswoman, told AP that women wanted the abortion bill but Conservative Popular Party spokesman Santiago Cervera said there is no clamor in Spain society for more abortions.
I applaud the overall initiative of this legislation, which is to fundamentally expand women’s access to basic reproductive health services, however; limiting young women’s choices through parental notification requirements is invasive and puts the lives of countless young women in danger.
