Thousands Rally Against Abortion in Spain as Government Moves Expansion Ahead
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 28, 2009
Madrid, Spain (LifeNews.com) — Tens of thousands of Catholics in Spain rallied on Sunday against abortion in the capital of the nation whose government is pushing a move to expand legalized abortions. The legislation would allow abortions through the 14th week of pregnancy and without any parental involvement for teenagers.
The event took place at a huge open air mass beside Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium that marked the Feast of the Holy Family.
At the huge rally, Cardinal Antonio Rouco, the leader of Spain’s Roman Catholics, told Spaniards that expanding abortions will further deplete the birth rate in Spain, part of a European continent that is already facing underpopulation problems.
"Europe will be practically without children," he warned.
"Who denies to defend a human being so innocent and weak, already conceived but not born, commits a grave violation of moral order," Cardinal Rouco added, according to the London Telegraph newspaper.
Catholic leaders from across Europe joined their local counterparts and members of the center-right opposition that is fighting the Socialist government’s pro-abortion move in Parliament.
Pope Benedict XVI sent a message of support to the rally and said that promoting pro-life values was "of paramount importance for the present and the future of humanity."
The Cardinal Bishop of Madrid, Antonio María Rouco Varela, who led the congregation said during the homily “the future of Europe passes through you, dearest Christian families.”
The Cardinal Bishops of Barcelona, Mons. Luis María Martínez Sistach, Valencia, Mons. Agustín García Gasco, and Sevilla, Mons. Carlos Amigo Vallejo led the Spanish officials of the Church which included the Bishops and Auxiliary Bishops.
Cardinals and Bishops from France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Poland, Austria and Portugal were also present at the event.
Earlier this month, the Spanish Parliament approved legislation to legalize abortions through 14 weeks for any reason and 22 weeks in some additional cases. Abortions are allowed in Spain already and the measure makes legal abortions official and will likely expand their already-growing numbers.
More than 100,000 abortions are already done in Spain every year as abortion centers use the mental health aspect of the current law to authorize the abortions, even though research shows abortions present women with a plethora of mental health problems.
The cabinet of the Spain government, headed by President Rodriguez Zapatero, has proposed a bill that would expand abortions and legalize them up to the fourteenth week of pregnancy.
In November, the proposal was approved in its first stage as ruling party Socialist Party was joined by five smaller parties to back the abortion expansion on a narrow majority of 180 to 163.
On December 17, the vote in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies was 184-158 with one abstention. The measure now goes to the Senate, which is expected to approve the pro-abortion bill early next year.
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