Spain plans to make abortion a constitutional right

The Spanish government plans to include the right to abortion in the constitution in the wake of what it says is a global attack on reproductive freedoms, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.

If adopted, Spain would become the second country in the world to constitutionally guarantee the right to abortion, after France did so last year.

This year, Spain marks four decades since abortion was no longer a crime.

"With this government there will be no regression when it comes to social rights," Sanchez wrote on the social network X.

The coalition government of socialists and the hard left is further strengthening progressive and feminist policies to mobilize its electorate, while polls show a rise in support for the far-right Vox party.

The reform requires the support of three-fifths of the lower house of parliament, which means that it would also need the support of MPs from the conservative opposition People's Party (PP).

The government also wants to amend the abortion law to prevent women who want to terminate a pregnancy from receiving false information that seeks to influence their decision.

According to a statement from Prime Minister Sanchez's office, the amended law would oblige health authorities to provide women with information about abortion based exclusively on objective scientific evidence, in accordance with the standards of institutions such as the World Health Organization or the American Psychiatric Association.

The move comes after the Madrid City Council passed a measure earlier this week that obliges health services to inform women considering abortion about the so-called "post-abortion syndrome."

The measure was proposed and adopted by right-wing, conservative parties.

According to the "Vox" party, the syndrome, the existence of which has no scientific consensus, allegedly leads to alcohol and drug use, suicidal thoughts or even cancer of the female reproductive system.

Reproductive rights advocates say global efforts to restrict women's reproductive freedoms have intensified since the United States Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which recognized the constitutional right to abortion.