Catholic Church criticizes Spain for plans to liberalize abortion

Sep 5, 2008, 11:46 GMT

Santiago de Compostela, Spain - The Catholic Church on Friday criticized Spain's Socialist government for its plans to liberalize the country's abortion law.

Cardinal William Joseph Levada, who serves as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, said the government's announcement 'saddened' him.

'It is a sign that the vision of created life, the precious dignity of every person that begins with conception, is not the basis of such a project,' said the Vatican official, who was attending a theology meeting in the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela.

The conservative daily El Mundo accused Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government of becoming 'radicalized' in an attempt to divert Spaniards' attention from the deepening economic crisis.

Equality Minister Bibiana Aido announced Thursday that the government was appointing a commission of experts to propose a new abortion law for 2009.

Spain's current, 1985 law theoretically allows abortion only in exceptional cases such as rape or malformation of the foetus.

In practice, however, some 100,000 abortions are performed annually on grounds of danger to the mother's psychological health.

The contents of the new law were not yet known, but it was expected to lift the requirement that women had to justify their abortions.

Abortion came under debate last and this year after police raided clinics suspected of performing illegal terminations on Spanish and foreign women in advanced states of pregnancy.

Abortion clinics then complained of harassment by authorities, and suffered minor attacks from pro-life activists. Police were also criticized for questioning women who had ended their pregnancies.