Abortion In Spain Research Articles

Evolution of Legislation and the Incidence of Elective Abortion in Spain: A Retrospective Observational Study (2011-2020).

Background: According to the WHO, “unsafe abortion occurs when a pregnancy is terminated either by people lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both”. Aim: To review the legislation that ensures access to elective abortion and the main indicators of elective abortion in Spain. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted across all regions of Spain from 2011 to 2020. The regulations of each region on the creation of the clinical committee and the creation of the registry of conscientious objector professionals were identified. Data were collected on rates of elective abortions per 1000 women, type of health center where the intervention was performed, interval of weeks of gestation, and cause. Results: After Law 2/2010 entered into force, the Spanish regions created a clinical committee; however, very few regions have a registry of conscientious objectors. During the study period, the average annual rate in Spain was 11.10 elective abortions per 1000 women between 15 and 44 years of age, showing a decreasing trend (annual percentage change of −1.92%). Only 10.67% of abortions were performed at public centers. In 90.18% of the cases, abortions were performed at the woman’s request. Conclusion: Spain legislated late compared to most European Union countries. The current law is similar to that of other member states, allowing abortion at the woman’s request in the first fourteen weeks and thereafter for medical reasons. Most abortions are performed at private centers, although many territorial inequalities are observed.

Intervenciones disruptivas al comienzo de la vida humana: un debate bioético y del bioderecho sobre la “pena de muerte” prenatal

La intervención disruptiva que más genera debate sobre la “pena de muerte prenatal”, desde la perspectiva de la bioética y el bioderecho, es sin duda el aborto. En este caso se trata de acabar deliberadamente con la vida: prima facie, la del hijo no deseado. Elucidaremos sobre la dignidad del ser humano, desde el momento mismo de la concepción de la persona humana, en acopio al derecho a la protección de la vida física del que está por nacer.La despenalización del aborto conlleva a la “pena de muerte” al comienzo de la vida humana, con connotaciones bioéticas, biomédicas, biopolíticas y del bioderecho. Permeando a las futuras generaciones con el postulado del principio de autonomía y el consentimiento informado que entrama el determinismo biológico de quienes deben morir, se examina la “pena de muerte prenatal” ante el aborto en España y Colombia.

Social and economic inequalities in induced abortion in Spain as a function of individual and contextual factors

The socioeconomic position of women who have an induced abortion has been explored extensively, but without taking contextual factors into account. The objective was to describe socioeconomic inequalities in the rate of induced abortion in Spain in 2001, jointly evaluating the effects of both regional and individual socioeconomic characteristics. A cross-sectional study using a multilevel approach was carried out among women who were resident in Spain in 2001, considering the hierarchical structure of relevant factors. Analyses were carried out at the individual and regional level. We fit Poisson regression models to calculate adjusted relative risks (aRR) of induced abortion and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The estimated abortion rate was 6.26 per 1000 women aged 20-49 years. Induced abortion was more frequent among younger women (aRR = 1.55 for women aged 20-24 years, compared with those aged 25-34 years) and those with less than primary education (aRR = 2.25 compared with women with university studies). Women residing in regions with lower public spending on non-university education (aRR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.70-0.98) and a higher percentage of non-European Union immigrants (aRR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.10) were also more likely to have had an induced abortion. Socioeconomic inequalities in the practice of induced abortion in Spain exist not only at the individual level but also at the regional level. The prevention of unintended pregnancy should be approached using a global political strategy aimed at changing contextual and individual factors that contribute to unintended pregnancy.

Contraceptive practices of women requesting induced abortion in Spain: A cross-sectional multicentre study

ABSTRACTObjectives To collect information on (i) contraceptive methods used immediately before unwanted pregnancy, and (ii) planned contraception following induced abortion among Spanish residents.Methods Eight centres officially accredited to perform abortions participated in a cross-sectional study. The study population included 2475 women requesting induced abortion between 1 January and 31 March 2007.Results Contraceptive methods used before unwanted pregnancy were condoms in 40% of the cases, combined hormonal contraception in 14%, and other methods (mainly natural methods and withdrawal) in 10%. Thirty-six percent of women did not use any contraceptive method. Failure of the method due to incorrect use was reported by 77% of those using condoms and by 84% of those using hormonal contraception. Only 23% of women planned to use a contraceptive method after abortion. Almost half of the women were immigrants.Conclusion Despite the use of effective contraceptive methods, the majority of women requesting induced abortion in Spain became pregnant during the use of these methods. These data reflect a lack of compliance. More education programmes are needed to improve compliance rates. The long-acting reversible contraceptive methods could constitute an appropriate approach.

The New Regulation of Abortion in Spain

The enactment of Law 2/2010 on Sexual and Reproductive Health and on Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy represents a radical change in the regulation of abortion in Spain. The law moves from the medical indication model that has been in place since 1985 (which established certain cases in which abortion was legal) towards a time-limit model that, with some exceptions, allows free abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Along with the hot debate that this fundamental change has caused, other features of the law have also arisen as a source of conflict, including the regulation of the informed consent of underage women for having an abortion and the rules regarding the conscientious objection by healthcare professionals.

Recourse to induced abortion in Spain: profiling of users and the influence of migrant populations

Background Social vulnerability implies a higher risk of induced abortion (IA). Immigrant status could be an additional factor. The objective was to identify the patterns surrounding which women resort to IAs, and to study the relationship between socio-economic and health system factors. Another aim was to determine the relationship between the patterns identified and the immigrant's country. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed including all IAs notified during 2006 on women residing in three Spanish autonomous communities (the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Comunitat Valenciana). We used sociodemographic, nationality and related variables, reproductive history and use of health services. A Categorical Principal Component Analysis was used to summarize the information and to identify profiles. Results More than a third of IAs were performed on non-Spanish women. Four dimensions have been determined that define the profile of women resorting to IAs: age, reproductive history and marital status; type of health services used; social level; and earlier or late IA and its repetitive use. Age and related factors were important determinants. Economic status and knowledge of the health system were related to access to contraception and IA information. Spanish, Western European and South American women had a higher social level than Romanian and African women. Late IA use and a lower recurrence characterised Asian, North African and Spanish women. Conclusion Differences on IA use between groups of different women seem to be related to vulnerability (economic, social, knowledge and use of healthcare services). There is a different situation among immigrants of differing nationalities.

Abortion in 1940s Spain: The social context

Most works that have examined abortion in Spain in the years after Franco's victory in 1939 have looked at the question through the prism of the repressive discourses of the state and those (male) professionals (doctors, lawyers) which the state paid to enforce the harsh laws against abortion or contraception. Using Court records from the 1940s, this article seeks to reinstate the voices of the women who chose to abort and those who tried to assist them, and suggests an alternative morality that was more tolerant of abortion than either Church or state.

Judicial review and political empowerment: Abortion in Spain

(1998). Judicial review and political empowerment: Abortion in Spain. West European Politics: Vol. 21, Politics and Policy in Democratic Spain: No Longer Different?, pp. 147-162.

Abortos inducidos en mujeres españolas en inglaterra y gales (1974–1988)

To assess the importance of travelling for abortion in Spanish women from 1974 to 1988, a descriptive epidemiologic study was undertaken, based on information from the United Kingdom Office for Population Censuses and Surveys. Additionally, the effect of the democratic restitution in Spain (1978) and of the passing of the Spanish abortion law in Spain is explored. During the study period, close to 200,000 Spanish women travelled to England and Wales to have an abortion. The annual figures range from 2,978 in 1974 to 22,002 in 1983. In 1988, in spite of the partial decriminalization of abortion in Spain, still 3,188 travelled to the UK for an abortion. In average, 1 out 35 Spanish women in fertile ages travelled to England and Wales for this reason in the study period. The likelihood was higher for the cohort of women born between 1955 and 1959, for which the risk was 4.5%. The proportional distribution by age shows that teenagers increased their relative importance from 9.3% in 1974 to 17% in 1988, suggesting less benefits for this age group than for older women from the democratization of the country and the abortion law.