By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
CORDOBA, SPAIN, May 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The leader of Spain’s main opposition party said Friday that the new abortion law proposed by the ruling Socialist Worker’s Party is “unacceptable and immoral,” and he will fight it all the way to the nation’s Constitutional Tribunal, the highest court for cases regarding constitutional law.
Mariano Rajoy, leader of Spain’s People’s Party, said that the bill “is unconstitutional, and the government knows it,” adding that “the law is bad in its foundations and its form and doesn’t help women.”
“Life is the most important value and there is nothing more progressive than defending defenseless people,” said Rajoy.
PP Vice-President Javier Arena added that “I have to sign an authorization so that my 16 year old daughter can go on a high school field trip to Doñana Park and they won’t let her purchase tobacco nor alcohol, which seems right to me, but if she gets an abortion the government is going to allow her to do it without my knowledge.”
The comments were made at a campaign event in Cordoba for elections to the European Parliament.
The proposed law, which was recently approved by Spain’s Council of Ministers (the President’s cabinet), would legalize abortion on demand during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy and would allow teenagers as young as 16 years old to obtain abortions without their parents’ consent.
After passing a review by legal experts the bill is expected to pass to the Congress, where the Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) will require its members to vote for its passage.
The more conservative People’s Party (PP), which in the past election seemed hesitant to take on the abortion issue, may be emboldened by a recent survey that showed a strong plurality of 43% of women oppose the new law, while only 34% support it.
The PP appears to be energized by the issue, and, according to the Spanish newspaper ABC, the European Parliament candidates are making it the principle issue of the current election.
The proposed law has already provoked massive protests and petition drives, and has been denounced by Spain’s Catholic hierarchy. The president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Antonio Maria Rouco, in a homily on Friday urged that “the right to be born not be denied to anyone conceived by a woman.”
Contact Information:
Embassy of Spain in the United States
2375 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20037
Telephone: (202) 452-0100
Fax: (202) 833-5670
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: https://www.spainemb.org/ingles/indexing.htm
Embassy of Spain in Canada
74 Stanley Avenue, Toronto, Ottawa, K1M 1P4, Canada
Phone: +1-613-7472252, +1-613-7477293, +1-613-7471143, +1-613-7476181
Fax: +1-613-7441224
Email: [email protected]
Website URL: https://www.embaspain.ca
Embassy of Spain in the United Kingdom
39 Chesham Place, SW1X 8SB, London, United Kingdom
Phone: +44-20-72355555
Fax: +44-20-72595392
Email: [email protected]
For a list of Spanish embassies around the world see
https://www.spanish-living.com/info_embassies.htm
Related LifeSiteNews coverage:
Spain’s Council of Ministers Approves Liberal Abortion Law Despite Strong Public Opposition
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051504.html
Spanish Bishops and Vatican Blast Plan to Legalize Abortion on Demand in Spain
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09022411.html
One Thousand Scientists, Physicians, and Intellectuals Sign Manifesto against the Further Legalization of Abortion in Spain
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09031907.html
Hundreds of Thousands March For Life In Spain
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09033105.html
Spanish Socialists Seek to Further Loosen already Liberal Abortion Law
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08090410.html