Spain mulls tough abortion law as Europe cringes

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People hold a banner reading ‘Spain zero abortion, for a life without cuts’ in Madrid. Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

Two days after the French parliament passed a bill to liberalize abortion rights, an association of some 300 Spanish pro-choice groups, Decidir Nos Hace Libres (Deciding Makes Us Free), is preparing to submit symbolic demands for asylum in France. The move comes amidst a growing divide in women’s reproductive rights between the two countries.

Under heavy pressure from the Catholic Church, Spain is gearing up to adopt one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. Legislation proposed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy would bar women from obtaining an abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape or physical or physiological distress to the mother, as determined by two independent health professionals. Deformities detected in the fetus would no longer be accepted as justification for an abortion. In contrast, French lawmakers have OK’d the removal from existing legislation of a clause dictating that pregnant women demonstrate “distress” before being allowed access to an abortion.

Both laws have garnered heated protests, though in France isolated pro-life rallies have done little to slow the bill’s trajectory. Broader protests have erupted across Spain, where popular opposition is buoying the Socialist Workers Party, which was behind progressive abortion legislation adopted in 2010, and vocally opposes the bill. Spanish MEP Iratxe Garcia warns that the law will lead to abortion tourism, with women who can afford it “able to go abroad to abort whereas the poorest women will end up risking backstreet abortions”. More surprisingly, senior members of Rajoy’s Popular Party, notably the leaders of Spain’s Extremadura and Galicia regions, have called for the premier to soften the bill, exposing a rift in the ruling party.

More problematic for Rajoy, perhaps, is the debate’s spread outside of Spain, with rare condemnation from foreign governments boosting the domestic opposition. The European Parliament discussed the bill last Thursday, with many leftist members troubled by a departure from Europe’s decades-old shift towards more progressive abortion legislation. (Notable exceptions being Malta, which is the only state that has outlawed abortion wholesale, Poland and Lithuania.) In France, Minister of Women’s rights Najat Vallaud-Belkacem has voiced concern that Spain “is planning to take a step back.”

Here, the premier’s word is on the line. The abortion law was integral to his 2011 electoral campaign — though, according to his detractors, Rajoy spoke only of limiting access to abortions for those under 18 years — and is staunchly supported by his ultraconservative base. Yet about 80% of Spaniards don’t support it and the Socialists have taken a slight lead in polling since Rajoy introduced the bill this December. That said, the Popular Party enjoys an absolute parliamentary majority, meaning the bill has a good chance of passing, even at the risk of splitting the party. (Neighboring countries like Portugal are already preparing for the repercussions, evaluating the potential influx of Spanish women seeking abortion.)

But more alarming still, the proponents of the Spanish law are reportedly gearing up to bring the fight to Brussels, and spread the pro-life campaign across Europe, with backing by fellow conservatives in Ireland, Poland, and France, where far-right leader Jean Marie Le Pen has spoken out in favor of Rajoy’s bill. With critical European elections coming up in May — and a wave of ultraconservatives, including bill architect Spanish Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, running for seats — look for the issue to intensify in coming months. And asylum requests like those from Decidir Nos Hace Libres to multiply.