On Tuesday, the Guardian said Spanish parliament members narrowly voted to accelerate the legislation that would limit access to abortion drastically in the country. The Socialist Parliamentary Group initiated the secret ballot, which resulted to an 183 to 151 vote for the abandonment of proposed changes in the abortion statute in Spain.
Laid in late December courtesy of the governing People's party, the abortion law is seeking to implement some of the toughest legislation on abortion in the Euro Zone, the Guardian said. The proposed changes, which was widely attacked by womens' groups as a step backwards from progress, will in the future make abortion illegal except in situations wherein it should be conducted in rape cases or in situations that the pregnancy will endanger the physical or mental health of the mother. Should the proposal be passed, women in Spain would need to secure verification from two doctors in order for the abortion process to be conducted.
Carmen Montón of the Spanish Socialist Workers party said that the latest attempt to thwart the bill prior to a general vote sprouted from concerns over the legislation that she, aside from other members of opposition, have heard in corridors of the Spanish parliament.
Prior to the vote, she said, "We want PP's [People's party] parliamentarians - especially the women - to have the freedom to express how they really feel about the issue. We're trying to take away the excuse that they would be penalized by the barons of the party. The majority of Spaniards don't want this reform."
The proposed changes is said to be unpopular among the Spanish people in general. The Guardian cited polls which revealed that around 70% to 80% of people in Spain are against the rollback of the abortion laws in the country.
Nonetheless, Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy had defended the changes consistently and said that the reform fulfilled an electoral promise.
