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Spain's Juridical Council Condemns Proposed Law Establishing Abortion as a "Right" as Unconstitutional

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

MADRID, June 26, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) -  The Juridical Council of Spain, a committee of legal experts charged with reviewing legislation before it is debated in the national Parliament, has condemned proposed legislation to establish abortion as a "right."

The council states in its 6-5 opinion that the measure is unconstitutional because of "the lack of protection of the unborn that is observed in the text regarding the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court on the topic."

"In purity one cannot speak of a right to abortion, because it would assume the recognition of the right to eliminate a human being that is distinct from the mother, and that has the right to human life," the council adds.

Although abortion is currently not penalized under certain circumstances in Spain, it remains illegal, and is not regarded as a "right." The proposed law would eliminate all criminal penalties on abortions up to 14 weeks of gestation, and allow the procedure to be performed on minors as young as 16 years old without the parents' knowledge or consent.

The report issued by the council also contains the minority opinion endorsing the law's constitutionality, but which also expresses reservations about the law.

Recent polls have indicated strong public opposition to the proposed reform.  The loss of the ruling Spanish Socialist Worker's Party (PSOE) to the more conservative People's Party (PP) in recent European Parliament elections has been partly attributed to massive public rejection to the bill, which the PP turned into a major issue.

Although the decision of the Council is not binding, it carries weight in the increasingly contentious political debate over the passage of the legislation.

The nation's "Secretary of Equality," PSOE member Soledad Cabezon, a vociferous defender of the bill, commented merely that "the power to legislate in our system of rule of law resides exclusively in the Parliament," which she said, has "the last word."

"This report reproduces, again, the two ideological tendencies that have been debated during the process previous to the presentation of the bill, and that will continue to appear in the future during the long process that remains before the definitive approval of the law."

Previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

Spanish Conservatives Ride Pro-Life Wave to Victory in European Parliament Elections
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060913.html

New Poll Shows Majority of Spaniards Opposed to Proposed Abortion Law
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060201.html

Spain's Council of Ministers Approves Liberal Abortion Law Despite Strong Public Opposition
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051504.html

One Thousand Scientists, Physicians, and Intellectuals Sign Manifesto against the Further Legalization of Abortion in Spain
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09031907.html

Spanish Socialists Seek to Further Loosen already Liberal Abortion Law
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08090410.html

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