Feminist Looking Glass

Spain’s Congress of Deputies voted 184-158 to approve a bill that will allow abortion without restrictions up to 14 weeks.  It allows 16- and 17-year-olds to have abortions without parental consent, eliminates the threat of imprisonment, and declares abortion to be a woman’s right.  The bill will now go to the Senate, where it is expected to pass early in 2010.

This is another very encouraging move by the traditionally Roman Catholic country.  Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero should be congratulated for this and the other initiatives that he has accomplished since taking office in 2004.  In addition to the new abortion law, it is now easier for Spaniards to divorce and same-sex marriage is now legal.  Zapatero’s initiatives may have also influenced other European countries to take similar actions.