Spain’s Sumar group aims to protect the right to an abortion in the constitution

‘France and its women have shown that progress is possible and necessary … it is time to fully guarantee the rights of all women,’ the party led by Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz wrote on X (formerly Twitter), two days before International Women’s Day.

Sumar spokeswoman Aina Vidal told a news conference that it was time to ‘move forward’ on the issue.

‘We invite all the political parties with whom we have already discussed the issue to open this social debate,’ she said.

Spain in 2022 criminalised the harassment or intimidation of women seeking an abortion. The move means anti-abortion activists who try to convince women not to terminate their pregnancies can now face up to a year in jail.

The country decriminalised abortion in 1985 in cases of rape, if a foetus is malformed, or if a birth poses a serious physical or psychological risk to the mother.

The scope of the law was broadened in 2010 to allow abortion on demand in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

Even so, Spanish women still face obstacles, with many doctors in the public sector refusing to carry out the procedure.

France on Monday became the first country in the world to offer explicit protection for terminating a pregnancy in its basic law after lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favour of the measure.

Decidir sobre nuestros cuerpos es un derecho que tiene que estar recogido en la Constitución.

Las mujeres francesas nos han mostrado el camino: tenemos que blindar el derecho a la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo.
pic.twitter.com/9GFDKcMI8y

— Yolanda Díaz (@Yolanda_Diaz_) March 6, 2024