The Government of Spain, the President of Socialist Government Pedro Sánchez, will propose a reform to include abortion among the rights recognized by the Constitution, the executive sources reported on Friday (3).
“In a global context of offensive against sexual and reproductive rights, Spain takes another step to consecrate women’s freedom and autonomy to decide on their lives,” the sources explained.
To this end, the Executive will promote an ordinary process of constitutional reform, which would require qualified majority for parliamentary approval, ie the favorable vote of three -fifths of Congress and Senate, something that seems complicated given the current composition of the houses.
The government announcement takes place shortly after the House of Madrid approved a proposal from the Vox nationalist right-wing party, supported by the majority of the conservative Popular Party (PP), to provide information to women seeking to interrupt pregnancy over post-abortion trauma.
Information about the syndrome will be exhibited permanently in municipal health centers, spaces of equality, future centers for full women and social service centers in Madrid, which generated revolt on the left.
“The PP decided to merge with the far right. This is their problem. They can do that. But not at the expense of freedoms and women’s rights,” said Sánchez, in a message in X.
“With this government, in the field of social rights, not one step back,” he added, saying that he would send to Parliament a proposal “to constitutionalize the right to voluntary interruption of pregnancy, in line with the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court.”
Current Spanish legislation allows abortion without restriction until the 14th week of gestation and until the 22nd week if there is a risk to the life or health of women or serious fetal anomalies.
The Constitutional Court recognized abortion in the country in a 2023 decision. If Sánchez’s proposal is approved, Spain would become the second country in the world to include the right to abortion in the Constitution after France in 2024.
The reform proposed by Sánchez also provides for the obligation that all information provided on abortion will have a “scientific, objective and supported basis” by standards of international institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Association of Psychiatry (APA).
Vox Secretary-General Ignacio Garriga criticized on Friday the government’s proposal to include the right to abortion in the Spanish Constitution.
“Forgive my laughter, but of course Pedro Sánchez is the biggest enemy of women. The Socialist Party cannot talk about freedom or women’s rights. Pedro Sánchez is the president of government who managed to increase rape by 275%,” said Garriga, according to ABC newspaper.
“Pedro Sánchez leads the government that fired the number of female genitals in Spain and the number of forced marriages,” he said.
“Pedro Sánchez should stop playing with the Constitution and false rights to try to cover up the corruption surrounding his family, his party and himself,” Garriga added, in reference to scandals that hit the current Spanish government.
