Written by Jovana Ríos Cisnero, Executive Director, Women’s Link Worldwide
The recent decision by Spain’s Constitutional Court to confirm the right of women and people of different race to have access to an abortion on request up to 14 weeks is an important move towards greater freedom to choose whether to become pregnant. It comes after 13 years of appeals by the conservative People’s Party (PP) challenging the constitutionality of the country’s abortion law before the highest court. The decision upholds Spain’s abortion law passed in 2010 by the Socialist Party (PSOE), which also allows abortion up to 22 weeks if there is a risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman or malformations. There have also been recent reforms (in 2023) allowing abortion without parental consent for 16 and 17-year-olds, a victory for adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
This decision of the Constitutional Court exists in the same context as the Women on Web case to unblock their Spanish site which was taken to court by Women’s Link. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, restrictions placed on movement and interpersonal interactions made it difficult to provide medical care, including abortion care, for millions around the world. Sites like Women on Web, through their online services, were instrumental in bridging the gap for those seeking safe abortion during this time. However, Spain blocked the Women on Web website, which served as a key source of information on sexual health and reproductive rights for some vulnerable groups. Among those unable to access reliable information about how to access an abortion were women living in poverty, rural women, and immigrant women who turned to Women on Web for information they could not find elsewhere. In 2021, Women’s Link filed a lawsuit demanding that its website be unblocked. Spain’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of Women on the Web in October 2022.
At the heart of the case is the right to information, especially at a time when digital platforms are the primary information-seeking site for those in need of time-sensitive services such as abortion. When considered together, the Constitutional Court decision and the Supreme Court decision in the Women on Web case set the stage for increased access to safe self-administered abortions in the region and globally through abortion pills and telemedicine abortions. As reproductive rights come under attack in Europe and elsewhere, Internet services are enabling informal groups and organizations to provide accurate, evidence-based and easy-to-read information about abortion, such as doses for medical abortion, what to expect during the procedure abortion. or when to seek professional medical attention. This type of information has proven vital in settings such as Poland, Uganda, the US or Venezuela whose legal regimes heavily restrict abortion. As such, the decision to reinstate the Women on Web site sets a precedent in many jurisdictions.
At the beginning of July 2023 The Spanish Constitutional Court ruled in favor of Antonia Correa, a woman from the region of Murcia, Spain, who was refused an abortion by her local health service and therefore had to travel 400 kilometers to Madrid to access her right to a safe abortion. The court upheld the constitutional guarantee of a safe abortion, rejecting the undue burden placed on Antonia and many other women in Spain to obtain an abortion. The blocking of the Women on Web site is such an unjustified burden and should be seen as a refusal by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) to ensure access to a guaranteed right.
Despite these victories, the Women on Web site is still blocked in Spain. In the wake of the decision, there is now a tension between the decisions of two high courts (the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court) and AEMPS, which was instrumental in blocking the Women on Web website. There is therefore an opportunity for the state to align its policies with these crises and restore access to this vital resource.
These progressive rulings by the Spanish courts come at a pivotal time, as states around the world seek to reverse progress made on the reproductive rights and justice front. We have seen an increase in efforts by anti-rights groups to restrict access to abortion in Europe – restricting access to abortion in Poland and criminalizing those who help people seeking abortion services like Justyna Wydrzyńska, for example – that she the decision can act as an embankment. This decision offers an opportunity for Spain to lead a regional movement to guarantee women and transgender people their reproductive rights, including their right to access abortion without barriers due to class or immigration status.
Our work as a transnational organization led us to be part of Causa Justa, the Colombian movement that ushered in the decriminalization of abortion up to 24 weeks. Part of the Green Wave in Latin America and the Caribbean, it is indicative of the enormous potential for learning and sharing that exists when there is global solidarity in the pursuit of reproductive justice.
The right of young people to access reproductive health services is in direct conversation with people in other places we work with, such as Kenya, where this is currently being challenged around consent and parental rights. Recognizing the interconnectedness of both the struggle for rights and the global nature of opposition groups, we see this decision as a stepping stone for more progress.
At a time when the right to life enshrined in national constitutions is being used to deny women, girls and transgender people access to reproductive autonomy and abortion services, the Spanish Constitutional Court’s finding that abortion respects life may serve as a persuasive argument for activists and advocates in other parts of the region and beyond.
