by Daniel Woolls
Date: 18 December 2009
Source: Associated Press

Lawmakers have voted to ease Spain's abortion law, approving a bill to allow the procedure without restrictions up to 14 weeks. The vote in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies was 184 in favour, 158 against and 1 abstention. The change would bring this traditionally Roman Catholic country in line with neighbours in northern Europe and the measure will go to the Senate in early 2010. Under the current law which dates from 1985, Spanish women could in theory go to jail for getting an abortion outside certain strict limits - up to week 12 in case of rape and week 22 if the fetus is malformed. But abortion is in effect widely available because women can assert mental distress as grounds for having an abortion, regardless of how late the pregnancy is. The bill wipes away the threat of imprisonment and declares abortion to be a woman's right. One controversial aspect is that the bill allows 16- and 17-year-olds to have abortions without parental consent, as in Germany, Britain and France, although minors must inform their parents unless doing so would cause serious problems for them. Abortion reform was the last major pending issue by Socialist Prime Minister Zapatero, who took power in 2004. Under him Spain has also legalised gay marriage and made it easier for Spaniards to divorce.