By Jonquil Frankham
October 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The abortion ship “Aurora” arrived in Valencia, Spain last Thursday evening to the protests of 400 pro-life demonstrators. Many of the protesters belonged to Catholic youth groups, as well as to the Valencian pro-life group “Provida.”
The Aurora provides abortions on demand in international waters around nations where abortion remains illegal or restricted, drawing international media attention and putting pressure on the countries where it docks to legalize abortion.
Spain’s abortion laws, unchanged since 1985, allow access to abortion at any time during pregnancy, providing there is a threat to the psychological or physical well-being of the mother. In practice, psychological or physical well-being is interpreted in the broadest sense, such that a Spanish woman can be relatively confident that she can obtain an abortion with minimal trouble.
Under the current law, between 1996 and 2006, Spain’s abortion rate rose 72 percent and 95.7 per cent of all abortions listed “health concerns” of the mother as the reason. In January of this year LifeSiteNews reported that Spain’s abortion rate had skyrocketed to 100,000 abortions per year. Despite the extremely high abortion rate in the country the operators of the “Aurora” are hoping that their activism will lead to the further loosening of Spain’s abortion law.
While abortions in Spain mostly take place in private clinics at the expense of the mother, the Aurora provides chemical abortions on demand for free. The abortion boat is an initiative of the group “Women on Waves,” founded by Dutch physician Rebecca Gomperts. It dispenses two different chemical abortifacient drugs, Mifepristone (better known as RU-486) and Misoprostol.
Spain’s socialist government is currently pushing to loosen the nation’s remaining restrictions on abortion, an initiative which Women on Waves is working to support.
Women on Waves’ Gynecologist Josep Luis Carbonell told the TimesOnline, “We are doing this to ask the Spanish Government and society that women should have the choice if they want to have an abortion. At present this is not possible and this is an affront to their dignity.”
When the abortions began on Friday, pro-life protesters at Valencia’s port called the arrival of the boat a “death party,” and tried to prevent its docking, according to TimesOnline. Pro-lifers remained with the boat as it left for international waters. Valencia’s conservative mayor accompanied them.
Women on Waves has visited Portugal, Ireland, and Argentina, and works to further universal abortion on demand, particularly with the use of the drug RU-486.
See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:
Dutch Abortion Boat Granted License for International Abortions
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/apr/07042403.html
Dutch Abortion Boat Sails for Portugal
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/aug/04082303.html
No Abortions in International Waters for Dutch Abortion Boat, Court Rules
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/aug/04081908.html
Dutch Abortion Boat Merely a Propaganda Machine Say Pro-Life Leaders
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/jul/03070704.html
Spanish Abortion Rate Skyrockets to over 100,000 Annually
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08010701.html