Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks at a press conference in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, China September 11, 2024. REUTERS/Xihao Jiang
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's leftist government plans to enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution amid what it views as a global onslaught on reproductive freedom, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday.
If passed, the Mediterranean nation would become the second country in the world to make abortion rights constitutional after France did so last year. Spain marks four decades since the act ceased to be a crime in 1985.
"With this government, there will be no backtracking on social rights," Sanchez wrote in a post on social platform X.
The coalition government of Socialists and the hard left is doubling down on progressive and feminist policies in a bid to rally its voter base, as polls show a surge in support for far-right party Vox.
SANCHEZ TAKES AIM AT 'POST-ABORTION SYNDROME'
The reform requires the backing of three-fifths of the lower house, meaning it would need support from lawmakers of the conservative opposition People's Party (PP).
The government also wants to tweak abortion laws to prevent women wishing to end their pregnancy from receiving false information meant to coerce them into not having abortions.
According to a statement by Sanchez's office, the amended law would force medical authorities to only provide abortion-related information based on objective scientific evidence, according to standards set by institutions such as the World Health Organisation or the American Psychiatric Association.
The move follows approval by Madrid's city council on Wednesday of a measure compelling health services to inform women considering an abortion about a so-called "post-abortion syndrome". The measure was proposed by Vox and passed with votes from the PP.
The syndrome, whose existence lacks scientific consensus, allegedly leads to alcohol and drug use, suicidal thoughts or even cancer in the female reproductive system, according to Vox.
"The PP has decided to merge with the far right. That's their choice. They can do so. But not at the expense of women's freedoms and rights," Sanchez added in his X post.
Reproductive rights advocates say global efforts to restrict women's reproductive freedoms have intensified since the U.S. Supreme Court voted in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that recognised a constitutional right to abortion.
In both his first and second terms, U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed restrictions on U.S. aid to overseas groups that perform or promote abortions.
(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Aislinn Laing and William Maclean)
