The Spanish government's first step toward "shielding" abortion in the Constitution

MadridThe Council of Ministers took the first step this Tuesday to ""shield" abortion in the ConstitutionAs Spanish President Pedro Sánchez announced in an interview on Cadena SER, he will request a consultative report from the Council of State to amend Article 43 of the Constitution and incorporate this women's right. "Women's right to voluntary termination of pregnancy is guaranteed. The exercise of this right, in any case, will be guaranteed by the public authorities, ensuring its provision under conditions of effective equality, as well as the protection of women's fundamental rights," the new Article 43.4 of the Constitution states. "We are taking a step towards the victory of women and the recognition of their rights in the face of the reactionary wave that seeks to curtail them," emphasized the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo.

This is not a reform that requires the dissolution of the Spanish Parliament or a referendum of the citizens, as is the case with hypothetical reforms to the monarchy or other sections of the text. However, broad parliamentary consensus is necessary. To begin with, a three-fifths majority in both Congress and the Senate would be required. If this were not achieved, a committee of both chambers would be formed to propose a new text, and then a two-thirds majority in Congress and an absolute majority in the Senate would be sufficient. In any case, the PP's concurrence is necessary.

Sánchez has decided to take a strong stand on the abortion issue, following the controversy in Madrid City Hall a few weeks ago, when the PP voted with Vox on a proposal requiring women to request a report on a false report. "post-abortion syndrome"In general, this is a right that has been outdated for the vast majority of citizens, and now the issue has been reopened due to the influence of the far right, something the Spanish government is exploiting to delve into the contradictions of the People's Party (PP). In this context, he emphasized the legally mandated registration of conscientious objectors, which is not enforced in all autonomous communities.

One of them is the Community of Madrid, where only 1% of abortions are performed in the public health system. Isabel Díaz Ayuso made some highly controversial statements last week when, understanding that the registry of conscientious objectors is a way of "singling out" doctors, she argued that in her region neither doctors nor women who opt for one thing or another should be singled out. "If they don't have enough, go somewhere else to have an abortion", she told the Madrid president from the left-wing party. This Tuesday's Council of Ministers also approved a requirement for the Community of Madrid, the Balearic Islands, and Aragon to establish a registry of conscientious objector doctors, setting off a dispute that could end up in the Constitutional Court.

Ayuso doesn't back down and attacks Sánchez.

Far from backtracking, Ayuso reaffirmed her position this Tuesday. "I will not create blacklists," the Madrid president reiterated, arguing that it is necessary to "protect the anonymity of doctors." "We are a government that is complying with the law, and what I am not going to do is point the finger at anyone," she insisted in a press conference, denying that she is hindering the right to abortion in Madrid. Ayuso accused Sánchez of lecturing "macho"I am a free woman. I have suffered the loss of two babies [...] Who does the president of the government think he is to speak on behalf of all women?" said the leader of the Madrid PP. "Of macho "That is to say, women should go elsewhere for an abortion," replied the Minister of Health, Mónica García, who made it clear that "women are not going anywhere." "We will exercise our rights here and now," she insisted. A list should be drawn up of doctors who do perform abortions. "Let it be clear," Sánchez asked, after the conservative president said in a tweet last week that his party defends the voluntary interruption of pregnancy "with the best medical care" as a result of the failure of some regional governments to comply with the law, and that "this right must be protected" by the Constitution.