This week, the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy halted controversial government plans to reform the country’s abortion law. The amendments to the 2010 law would have given Spain one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, preventing women from terminating a pregnancy in almost all circumstances, including feotal deformity, and were met with widespread protests from opposition parties, feminist groups, and just about everyone else. Instead, it was announced on Tuesday that the reforms would be scrapped. Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, architect of the proposed reform, also resigned.
But while feminist movements and women’s groups certainly welcomed the news, few see it as a decisive step forwards for women’s rights - mainly because the government was able to take such a huge step backwards in the first place.
‘My main feeling was relief,’ explains 25-year-old journalist Ane Guerra was travelling from her hometown in the Basque country to Barcelona by train when she heard the news. ‘I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if such nonsense became a law in my country. It would have been like going back to the 60s, where people had to travel to the UK to have an abortion.’ And did she celebrate? ‘I did - but to be fair, preserving our liberties in the 21st Century shouldn’t be a cause for celebration.’
How had women in Spain come so close to loosing their fundamental right to decide what happens to their own bodies?
Despite such an unexpected eleventh-hour victory, the mood amongst most of the pro-choice and feminist campaigners The Debrief spoke to spoke to is relatively somber. How had women in Spain - one of the most progressive countries in Europe - come so close to loosing their fundamental right to decide what happens to their own bodies? ‘It’s difficult to see why the Spanish government created such a tense situation by threatening women’s rights,’ admits Carolina Garcia, Carolina Garcia, a member of Nosotras Decidimo, the campaign group behind the many of the pro-choice protests.
READ MORE: 'It's My Body And I Decide.' Meet The Women Protesting Spain's New Anti Abortion Laws
‘The main reason the PP [Partido Popular - the governing party in Spain right now] tried to change the law was to appease Conservative voters,' she continues. 'Maybe they didn’t expect such a massive response - not just from the feminist movement and women’s groups, but also from the majority of Spanish society.’ Indeed, polls held earlier this year indicated that between 70% and 80% of the Spanish population were opposed to rolling back the country’s abortion laws.
But Gillian Kane a senior policy advisor at Ipas, an international reproductive health organization, believes it was political expedience, rather than the will of the people that led the Prime Minister Rajoy to ditch the proposed reforms - along with their key architect, Justice Minister Gallardon, before the upcoming elections in 2015. ‘Since Gallardon first announced in 2011 that he was going to reform the 2010 abortion law as part of the PPs political platform, the process has been completely protracted, which has worked against them,' she says.
'The whole legal reform process created a lot of conflict and negative publicity for the government - remember that the abortion debate took place in the context of a country where abortion was already decriminalised and where there is a strong social opposition to setbacks in personal liberty and freedoms. So, with the upcoming election it didn’t make political sense to continue supporting the minister of justice, it was easier to sacrifice him.’
But the drawn-out legal process did give Spain’s already active feminist movement a chance to regroup around the issue of abortion rights - something most women had considered a done deal, explains Gillian. ‘Abortion was no longer at the forefront of the women’s movement. Their focus had shifted from abortion to gender violence, political and economic participation and other issues.’
This reform has allowed the feminist movement to fight together against a common enemy
READ MORE: Meet The Woman Behind Spain's Abortion Travel Agency
Carolina Garcia agrees that it gave the feminist movement in Spain the opportunity to mobilise itself against one common movement, which is never a bad thing. ‘This reform has allowed the feminist movement to fight together against a common enemy. In this sense we realised that it is possible to work together and share common messages. This has been a lesson learnt for all the feminist movement.’
But with the government now looking to introduce new changes in the law, meaning 16 and 17 year olds would need permission from their parents in order to get an abortion, few members of the pro-choice movement in Spain feel like they’re out of the woods. (In the UK if you're under 16, you can have an abortion without the consent of your parents as long as two doctors believe it's in your best interest and you fully understand what's involved). ‘The constitutional court needs to comment on the appeal the government made to the 2010 law,' explains Carolina. 'If the court declares the law - or some parts of it - unconstitutional, then this is good news for the government, as they’ll get what they want, but the decision will have been made through the courts.’
And even if that doesn't happen, the fact still remains, it was a close run thing - scarily close. Women in Spain are quickly learning that they can take nothing for granted when it comes to their right to choose. ‘It’s made us all realise how easily our liberities and the constant fight of thousands of mem and women towards equality can be destroyed,’ explains Ana. ‘And it makes us realise how fragile democracy is sometimes.’
**Liked this? You might also be interested in: **
Our Ovaries Our Decision Meet The Spanish Girls With A Clear Message For Their President
I Won't Be Made To Feel Ashamed Says The Women Who Filmed Her Abortion
Follow Rebecca on Twitter @rebecca_hol
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.