Thousands
of women marched in the streets of Madrid on Saturday to protest against the
Spanish government’s plan to restrict access to abortion.
They
yelled “Freedom of abortion!” and waved signs such as “MPs and rosaries, out of
my ovaries”, targeting the Catholic Church as the supposed driver of the
reform.
Prime
Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government said in December it would scrap a 2010 law
that allows women to freely opt for an abortion in the first 14 weeks of
pregnancy.
The
new legislation would allow abortion only in cases of rape or a threat to the
physical or psychological health of the mother.
Protesters
say the law would roll back the decades in Spain, returning to previous
restrictions under which they say women seeking abortions had to go abroad for
the procedure.
“The
law means to take us back 40 years,” said Concha Merin, 42, who travelled
hundreds of miles from the Extremadura region to join the protest in Madrid.
“I
have two daughters who could be affected. I am thinking of the freedoms of all
women in general.”
The
flag-waving demonstrators, mostly women of all ages and also including minority
political groups, marched past the justice ministry in Madrid.
They
then massed on a central square, shouting for the resignation of the man
leading the reform, Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon.
The
bill has reportedly caused division within the ruling Popular Party and has not
yet been sent to parliament, where the conservative Popular Party holds a
strong majority.
The
delay has drawn cries of impatience from anti-abortion campaigners and the
Roman Catholic Church hierarchy.
“The
Church should not interfere in politics,” added protester Merin.(AFP)
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