At the start of the week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sent official letters to the heads of Madrid, Asturias, Aragón, and the Balearic Islands. In these messages, he insists that women in state medical institutions in these regions must be able to exercise their right to terminate a pregnancy without obstruction.
Sánchez emphasized that many still face difficulties when trying to exercise this right. According to him, the situation demands immediate action to eliminate existing barriers. The letters stress that the law on sexual and reproductive health, as well as on voluntary termination of pregnancy, requires regions not only to ensure access to the procedure itself, but also to create a special registry for medical workers who, for personal reasons, refuse to participate in abortions.
The Prime Minister is demanding that these measures be implemented as soon as possible. If, within three months of receiving the letter, the regions fail to take the necessary steps, the government intends to use all legal tools available to compel compliance. Sánchez made it clear that the issue requires urgent attention and the central authorities are prepared to act decisively.
In recent years, the issue of access to abortion in public clinics has been repeatedly raised in Spain. In some autonomous communities, women have been forced to seek services at private centers or travel to other regions due to a lack of specialists or widespread conscientious objection among doctors. The government’s new measure aims to ensure that such situations are a thing of the past and that women’s rights are guaranteed throughout the country.
