Report Shows Abortions in Spain Dropping as Teens Choose Life

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jul 6, 2011   |   6:43PM   |   Madrid, Spain

A new report out of Spain shows the number of abortions there lowering as teenagers are more likely to choose life when confronted with an unexpected pregnancy.

Francisca Garcia of the of ACAI, an association of licensed abortion businesses, indicates the number of abortions has dropped since 115,000 abortions were logged in 2009, saying they dropped significantly in some regions.

“In Andalusia, for instance, abortions fell between three to five percent, depending on the province,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Red Madre Foundation indicates about 80 percent of teenage girls facing an unplanned pregnancy choose life for their unborn children and the director of the foundation, Carmina Garcia-Valdes, says there has been a 45 percent uptick of girls seeking her organizations help in a crisis pregnancy situation following a new abortion law the nation put in place last year.

Ultimately, since 20007, it has helped present abortion alternatives to 6,000 young women since 2007, according to the Catholic News Agency. The foundation indicated 53 percent of the 4,331 women it helped in 2010 where between 14-20 years old, which represents an increase on the 18 percent figure from 2009.

Garcia-Valdes told the news service that “teens do not want to abort,” but those who do are “suffer from all kinds of pressure in most cases, from their family members.”

“They have no time for reflection and now they are asking us for psychological and psychiatric help,” she said. “When a pregnant woman receives the help she needs, she continues on. Perhaps her situation remains unresolved but once she has her child, she has the necessary tools to carry on.”

The reductions are positive news since the released of a report in January showing the number of abortions had doubled despite increase usage of contraception.