Spanish government wants to create blacklists of doctors who refuse to perform abortions

Spain’s socialist government is pushing for regional “blacklists” of doctors who object to performing abortions, sparking backlash from medical and Catholic leaders.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has urged conservative-led regions to create official registries of conscientious objectors, giving them a three-month deadline to do so or face legal action. Critics, including the National Association for the Defense of the Right to Conscientious Objection, call the move unconstitutional and discriminatory.

These “are blacklists to professionally exclude doctors,” said the association’s president, Eva Martín.

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Sánchez also wants to enshrine abortion in Spain’s constitution, following France’s lead earlier this year. But such a move faces strong political opposition and likely won’t pass.

Abortion rates in Spain continue to rise, with over 103,000 procedures recorded in 2023, representing an increase of 4.8 per cent compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Madrid’s City Council has mandated information on post-abortion syndrome, a decision praised by Bishop César García Magán, who reaffirmed the church’s stance: Abortion is the taking of human life and never a true solution.

“The bishops’ position against abortion is clear,” he said, “because (abortion) represents an attack on human life in the womb.”