Spanish gov't to launch legal challenge over region's anti-abortion measures

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ISTANBUL (AA) - Spain announced Tuesday that it would send a requirement of incompetence to the country's Castile and Leon region, the first step for a central administration to take the regional executive to the Constitutional Court over its planned anti-abortion measures.

Following the Council of Ministers' approval, the requirement of incompetence gives the regional government of Alfonso Fernandez Manueco a month to reply to the measure, which states that it has no authority to make a decision that would violate or undermine the rights enshrined in Spain's law of voluntary interruption of pregnancy, news agency EFE reported, citing the secretary of state for communication.

Castile and Leon's Vice President Juan Garcia-Gallardo on Thursday announced new "pro-life" measures championed by his far-right Vox party, aimed at preventing abortion.

Garcia-Gallardo said the health protocol for pregnant women would "immediately" change and that under the new rules, doctors would be obliged to tell pregnant women, including those seeking to terminate their pregnancies, that they could listen to the fetus' heartbeat, view it in a 4D ultrasound or receive psychological support.

The new "pro-life" measures were expected to take effect on Monday in the region, but Spain's central government promised legal challenges.

Changes to the pregnancy protocol have not been received by hospitals in Castile and Leon or published in the official state gazette, according to the Spanish daily El Pais.

Castile and Leon is the first and only Spanish region governed, in part, by Vox.

After elections in 2022, Vox joined a coalition government with the traditional right-wing Popular Party in the region.

In Spain, abortion is legal upon request during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. It is also available later for situations where the woman's or fetus' health is at risk.

A reform to the abortion law to make it easier for women has been passed by parliament but still needs to be approved by the Senate.