Thousands of people demonstrated in central Madrid this Sunday, weeks after Spain’s parliament passed a law expanding access to voluntary termination of pregnancy, decriminalized in Spain in 1985.
With banners reading “Yes to life” or “A human being from 0 to 100 years old”, demonstrators march through several streets of the Spanish capital.
According to local authorities, some 23,000 people are taking part in this action, according to the French news agency AFP.
This is an annual event organized by the platform “Sí a la vida” [em português “Sim à vida”].
On February 6, a law was passed in Spain strengthening access to voluntary termination of pregnancy in public hospitals, which in Spain, a country with a Catholic tradition, perform less than 15% of abortions, mainly due to conscientious objection.
Because of this situation and the lack of specialized clinics nearby, some women travel hundreds of kilometers for a voluntary termination of pregnancy.
This law also allows minors to use this procedure without parental consent from the age of 16, canceling an obligation introduced by the Conservative government in 2015 while introducing “menstrual leave” for women suffering from painful menstruation. , an unprecedented measure in Europe.
Abortion was decriminalized in Spain in 1985 and legalized in 2010.
Source: DN
