Far-right’s anti-abortion drive sparks friction in Spain

Anti-abortion measures unveiled in a Spanish region co-run by the right and far-right sparked controversy Friday with the left-wing government insisting there would be no reneging on women’s rights.

In Spain, which has taken a leading role in advancing women’s rights, abortion was decriminalised in 1985 and legalised in 2010 but it remains a right that is fraught with difficulties in a country with a strong Catholic tradition.

In an announcement late Thursday, health officials in the northern Castilla y Leon region said women in the early stages of pregnancy would be offered a 4D ultrasound scan to let them hear the baby’s heartbeat as well as psychological support in a bid to deter abortions.

They would also ensure protection for a physician’s right to refuse to perform an abortion on grounds of conscience — a common occurrence in Spain.

Public healthcare in highly-decentralised Spain is managed by the regional governments, with Castilla y Leon jointly run by the right-wing Popular Party (PP) and the far-right Vox.

“These are pro-life measures to help ensure that all the fathers and mothers who want a woman’s pregnancy to continue, can do so,” said the region’s deputy head, Juan Garcia-Gallardo, who belongs to Vox.

“If (these measures) help ensure that even just one baby that was going to be aborted is born.. it will be worth it,” he said.

– ‘The women’s virtue police’ –

Vox won its first share of power in one of Spain’s regional governments in April 2022 when it secured a coalition deal with the PP in Castilla y Leon, a rural region with 2.4 million residents.

It was the first time a far-right party had taken a share of power since Spain returned to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

The new measures sent political tensions soaring ahead of a general election later this year which polls suggest would be won by the PP, although it would need Vox’s support to rule.

“The government must act against this proposal,” Economy Minister Nadia Calvino told RNE public radio, lashing out at what she denounced as the “women’s virtue police” trying to drag Spain back “to the darkest times of our history”.

The government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has pushed through reforms to shore up women’s reproductive rights, such as criminalising the harassment of women going for an abortion.

It is also seeking to broaden abortion access at private hospitals and allow minors of 16 and 17 to abort without their parents’ consent, in legislation expected to win Senate approval in the coming months.