The Spanish Senate definitively adopted on Wednesday April 6 a reform of the Penal Code in order to be able to condemn to prison anti-abortion activists guilty of “
harassment
” against women in an attempt to convince them not to have an abortion.
Read alsoThousands of anti-abortion protesters in Madrid
They may be sentenced to terms of three months to one year in prison or community service for having “
harassed a woman
” with a view to “
obstructing the exercise of the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy
” .
via “
embarrassing, offensive acts, intimidation or pressure
”, according to the text of which the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is at the origin.
The “
harassment
” of nursing staff will be punished with the same penalties.
According to a 2018 report by the Association of Clinics Authorized to Perform Abortion (ACAI), 89% of women wanting an abortion in Spain felt harassed and 66% threatened.
Abortion was decriminalized in Spain in 1985, but only for three reasons: rape, “
serious risk
” for the woman and fetal malformation.
It was not until 2010 that the country legalized abortion without medical justification up to the 14th week of pregnancy.
Read alsoChile: abortion included in the draft new Constitution
A law strewn with pitfalls
But abortion remains a right strewn with pitfalls in this country with a strong Catholic tradition where conscientious objection from doctors is massive and where anti-abortion movements are very active.
These groups frequently meet in front of clinics to try to convince women not to have abortions by showing them plastic fetuses or putting them in vehicles equipped with ultrasound machines.
Anti-abortion activists demonstrated on Wednesday in front of the Senate to denounce a "
criminalization
" of their activities.
In January, the Association of Catholic Propagandists (ACdP) deployed 260 billboards in 33 cities, including the Madrid metro, with the slogan “
Praying in front of a clinic that performs abortion is great
”.
In 2015, the right, then in power, wanted to return to the 1985 law. parental permission.
The left-wing government wants to repeal this provision and also guarantee a minimum of access to abortion in the public health system, while the vast majority of abortions are performed in the private sector.
In Spain, women sometimes have to travel hundreds of kilometers to have an abortion due to the lack of specialized services nearby.
Eight of the country's 50 provinces have had no abortions since its decriminalization in 1985, according to the government.
