Prime Minister of Spain calls for draconian 'blacklist' of doctors who refuse to commit abortions

Shortly after vowing to make abortion a constitutional right in Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of the Socialist Party is now seeking to publicly name and blacklist doctors who refuse to intentionally kill preborn human beings.

Key Takeaways:

• Abortion was legalized in Spain in 1985 for rare circumstances, and was fully legalized in 2010 through 14 weeks of pregnancy.

• However, if a doctor agrees that an abortion is needed for a woman's health, she can undergo an abortion at any time during pregnancy; this can be for any type of health, including mental health.

• Minors can undergo abortions without parents' knowledge or consent

• Prime Minister Sánchez has since been pushing to make abortion a constitutional right.

• Now, he is also looking to publish a list of doctors who will not commit abortions, even if they are not specifically pro-life.

The Details:

Sánchez and his Socialist Party have, according to the European Conservative, asked local governments — Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, and Madrid — to begin compiling lists of doctors who will not commit abortions.

El Debate reported they have been told to put together "blacklists" of "objecting doctors" as soon as possible.

Some of these regions, like Madrid and Castile and León, are known to be more openly pro-life, where a majority of hospitals have been accused of “non-compliance” and most OB/GYNs are conscientious objectors.

Manuel Martínez-Sellés, president of the Madrid College of Physicians, raised serious concerns about the possible purpose of this list.

“This is difficult to see as anything other than an attempt to restrict freedom of conscience,” he told El Debate, adding that “objector lists” could be used “to discriminate against doctors who refuse to take part in acts they consider morally wrong.”

Martínez-Sellés also said the list will "directly violate the right to conscientious objection."

Why It Matters:

Spain requires abortions to be available in every single public health center in the country, which is why Sánchez is looking to have these doctors blacklisted. Part of the reason for this effort is specifically because so few doctors are willing to commit abortions.

Around the globe — in places like Italy, Australia, and the United States, to name a few — the overwhelming majority of doctors are unwilling to kill preborn children in abortions. The pro-abortion American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said less than 1 in 4 OB/GYNs in the U.S. will commit abortions. Therefore, abortion organizations have been seeking other ways to make abortion more widely accessible.

Usually, this involves legalizing measures allowing non-physicians to commit abortions, even if that is more dangerous for women — but Spain is evidently moving quickly to publicly ostracize doctors who refuse to kill in violation of their consciences.

The Bottom Line:

Just as no woman should ever be forced to undergo an abortion, no doctor or medical professional should ever be forced to participate in one. Medical professionals should have the right to refuse to participate in any procedure that violates their conscience.