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Spanish Socialist Ruling Party Seeks to Make Abortion Free

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

SPAIN, February 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Spanish Socialist Worker's Party, which recently promised to bring "equity" the provision of abortion, has now clarified what it means by "equity": free abortions, financed by the Spanish government.

An article in the Spanish magazine ALBA states that the a national law is being planned by the socialist government that will regulate access to abortion in an "egalitarian" manner, in order to "guarantee that a service that is found in the list of Social Security services can be given in conditions of quality and equity through agreements with private clinics."

"What does 'equity' mean exactly?" asks ALBA.  According to Spanish Deputy Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, it means that "the service is accessible to the whole world in conditions of equality and without any discrimination." 

Moreover, a source within Spain's Zapatero administration reportedly told ALBA that, indeed, "equity" means "free of charge."

In addition to pursing 'equity' in the provision of abortion, Prime Minister Zapatero's party has promised abortion providers that it will seek to limit the impact of clinic inspections and investigations, which have recently resulted in prosecutions of abortion clinic personnel in Barcelona and Madrid.

Life and family issues are playing an increasingly important role in Spain's parliamentary races, although the two major parties differ little in their policies.  With regard to abortion, the ruling Socialist Worker's Party seeks to expand its availability, while the opposing Popular Party has promised merely to enforce existing laws. 

Spain's abortion laws are among the most liberal in Europe, allowing abortion up to the ninth month on the basis of a diagnosis of "psychological risk" to the mother.

The debate over abortion in Spain has been galvanized in recent months by grisly revelations of late-term abortions done in various clinics, using fabricated psychological diagnoses, and disposal of fetal body parts in the trash or sewage system (see recent LifeSiteNews coverage at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121401.html).

Previous LifeSiteNews Coverage:

Spain's "Conservative" Party Offers Weak Resistance to Socialist Anti-Family Policies
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08013009.html

Commentary: Upcoming Spanish Elections Increasingly Resemble Referendum on Abortion, Gay Marriage
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08020502.html

Spanish Prime Ministerial Candidate Says He Would Eliminate Homosexual Adoptions
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08021101.html

Well Over One Million Spaniards Demonstrate for Marriage and Family
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08010303.html

FULL ABORTIONS SHOWN ON SPANISH TELEVISION - FIRST IN HISTORY
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121401.html

Late Term Abortionist Arrested by Spain's Police
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/nov/07112913.html

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