The Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE) has announced its position in the debate sparked by a proposal to include abortion as a fundamental right in Spain’s constitution.
In a statement released on October 13, the evangelical group called the political initiatives of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government “inflammatory” and “a contradiction in terms,” and reiterated the Christian belief that “human life exists from the moment of conception.”
“The belief that ending human life is a fundamental right is a characteristic of barbaric cultures typical of ancient times,” the AEE said. “All abortions are a failure of society and a painful event for the woman and those close to her,” the document signed by the board added.
The evangelical group notes that its position on abortion has “already been stated previously” and has not changed. The report states that abortion can only be considered “in cases of clear danger to the mother’s life or severe malformation that makes the fetus’s survival impossible.”
Lack of alternatives and information
In a statement, AEE criticized Spain’s current abortion laws, which are already “widely accepted” but do not provide adequate alternatives for women with unwanted pregnancies. “Abortion is taken for granted as a simple solution with no consequences,” the group warns, pointing to a lack of support to resolve work, relationship and family conflicts, and a lack of information about options such as adoption.
Among the latest efforts by the Spanish government’s Ministry of Health is a website titled “I want an abortion,” which allows women to search for abortions using a search engine, but does not provide information for women who have questions about the consequences of such a decision.
In a public statement, the Spanish Evangelical Union also criticized the fact that “the mother is not provided with adequate information about the risks and side effects of abortion,” which she believes prevents her from making a truly free decision. AEE cites studies that “demonstrate the presence of depression and other psychiatric symptoms following induced abortion.”
“Paradox” about reproductive rights
The AEE called the fact that the abortion debate “completely takes no account of the excluded human right to life” as “absurd and alarming”. In this regard, he compares society’s sensitivity towards war victims with its indifference towards “the even more defenseless people developing in their mothers’ wombs”.
The alliance also criticized the terminology used in the public debate, saying: “Introducing abortion as a reproductive right is a paradox, since the goal is actually to prevent reproduction. To talk about voluntary abortion is to ignore the fact that it is not a matter of turning on a switch, but of ending a life.”
Conscientious objection and occupational freedom
AEE also objects to a list of medical experts who oppose abortion, a plan implemented by the current administration. The Evangelical Alliance says such a registration is a “blacklist to be avoided” and warns that it supports the Madrid Association of Physicians’ opposition because it “implies unjust control over doctors who decide to oppose their freedom.”
Conscientious objection is “a fundamental right that protects people from having to express their beliefs.”
“Ending more than 100,000 lives a year is not progress.”
In conclusion, the Evangelical Alliance rejects the idea that liberalizing abortion is synonymous with social progress. “Society like Spain, where more than 100,000 people die each year, can therefore hardly be called progressive,” the magazine said.
The deaths of so many unborn children reflect a “broken pillar of social justice, ethics, values and future consciousness” and a “society doomed to an uncertain future”.
According to official government figures released in October, 106,172 abortions will be performed in 2024, the highest number in more than a decade.
In France, abortion was included in the constitution after a social debate in which evangelicals took a stand against abortion. A similar idea was rejected in the Netherlands.
The Spanish Evangelical Union’s October 13 statement on abortion can be downloaded here (in Spanish).
The first edition was published by Evangelical Focus. Republished with permission.
