The Supreme Court orders Ayuso to open the registry of abortion objectors

BarcelonaThe High Court of Justice of Madrid has ordered the Community of Madrid to "immediately" begin the procedures for creating a registry of conscientious objectors to voluntary terminations of pregnancy, a list mandated by law and approved by the Interterritorial Council (comprised of representatives from all autonomous communities). The ruling by the eighth section of the court's administrative chamber is a further step in the ongoing dispute between the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso and the Ministry of Health, headed by Mónica García, which has resisted establishing a registry of professionals who refuse to perform abortions. In fact, the judges upheld the precautionary measures requested by the Ministry. The court specifies that although the precautionary measure does not require the Community of Madrid to create the registry immediately, it does impose the obligation to initiate the necessary administrative procedures to develop and approve it, in compliance with current regulations. However, she justifies the decision as a way to "combat the passivity" of the Madrid administration, since she believes there is a "risk of delay" and that the Ayuso government will try to "indefinitely prolong" the creation of the list.

The Community of Madrid is the only autonomous community that has rebelled against the obligation to create a registry of healthcare professionals who object to abortion, along the same lines as has been done for the provision of euthanasia, which Ayuso has readily complied with. The abortion registry is a private list, inaccessible to patients, and used solely to allow healthcare centers to know the status of their professionals when scheduling shifts. The goal is to ensure that the right to conscientious objection does not conflict with women's right to freely choose to have an abortion.

Given the Madrid government's refusal to comply with the law, The Ministry of Health filed a complaint through the courts, in a tug-of-war between the two administrations. In an appearance before the Madrid Assembly, the Madrid president reiterated that she did not intend to approve the registry because she believes it only has the intention "of singling out" doctors, and she snapped at the left-wing members of parliament: "Go get your abortion somewhere else.".