80 percent of pregnant teens in Spain choose to keep their babies
A report in Spain showed recently that the number of abortions fell one year after abortion law reforms were set in place in that country.
The study, released by ACAI (an association for licensed abortion clinics), also noted that pregnancies are being terminated earlier now compared to before the reformation of abortion laws.
Under the revised abortion laws, Spain permits abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, and in the case of fetal malformation or threat to the mother’s health, up to 22 weeks.
Under previous laws, abortions were only allowed up to the 12th week of pregnancy in cases of rape, and up to 24 weeks if the mental or physical health of the mother was endangered.
The Health Ministry of Spain has not released any official statistics, but Jose Martinez Olmos, secretary general for health, affirmed the decline to The Telegraph, and said it is likely due to the over-the-counter availability of the “morning-after pill,” subsidized contraceptives and pregnancy prevention programs.
Doubled abortions despite contraception
However, a study that was published in “Contraception,” a medical journal, indicated otherwise, showing that from 1997 to 2007 the abortion rate doubled from 5.52 to 11.49 for every 1000 women in Spain, despite the availability and use of contraceptives.
The study surveyed women every two years about contraceptive use, pregnancy and abortion. Findings also revealed that in the same time period, overall use of contraception rose from 49.1 percent to 79.9 percent.
Teenage choice
Carmina Garcia-Valdes, director of Red Madre Foundation, told Christian Telegraph that one year after Spain’s revised abortion law, the number of teens who approached her foundation rose by 45 percent.
In 2010 more than half, or 53 percent, of 4,331 women aided by the foundation were aged 14-20.
Most of them were immigrants who, Valdes said, “do not want to abort but suffer from all kinds of pressure,” Christian Telegraph reported.
There was also an 18 percent rise in the number of women who approached the foundation in 2010, compared to 2009.
Garcia said eight of every 10 pregnant teens who approached them chose to keep their babies.
Valdes told Christian Telegraph, “teens do not want to abort.” Many of those who do are succumbing to “pressure, in most cases, from their family members.”
Valdes also slammed the reformed law which allows abortion up to the 14th week because it places teens under more pressure to abort earlier.
“They have no time for reflection and now they are asking us for psychological and psychiatric help,” Christian Telegraph reported.
Valdes told Christian Telegraph, “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.”