On Sunday, March 10, Spain’s annual March for Life took place, where thousands gathered in Madrid to say “Yes to Life”.
Alicia Latorre, the president of the Spanish Federation of Pro-Life Associations, explained the march is especially important “at this time when there are special attacks, not only by the laws but also against those who defend life.” Latorre was referring to recent events where peaceful protests and even prayer have been criminalized. So this year, the people of Spain marched not only for an end to abortion, but for the right to even gather to protest and pray. This could be seen in the banners that read: “Praying is not harassment.”
Technically, abortion is allowed until 14 weeks gestation in Spain. However, the wording of the law allows doctors a lot of freedom to decide that an abortion is ‘necessary’ beyond this limit. It allows an abortion “due to fetal pathology and maternal (physical and psychic) health until week 22,” and beyond this “when there is a fetal pathology incompatible with life, or when an extremely serious and incurable disease is detected in the fetus at the time of diagnosis and confirmed by a clinical committee.”
At the end of the march’s route, participants gathered before a stage where the manifesto of the Yes to Life Platform was read and then testimonies were given. The manifesto rejects “all laws and practices that threaten life and human nature at any moment of its existence, as well as the businesses and ideologies that sustain them.”
MADRID, SPAIN – MARCH 10: Several people protest with placards during the march for life, on 10 March, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. The Platform ‘Yes to Life’, supported by more than 500 associations and civic entities, has celebrated today the International Day of Life with a march from Serrano Street to Paseo de Recoletos nº18. After the march, the event was held with the reading of the Manifesto Yes to Life and a final concert celebrating the Day of Life. (Photo By Gustavo Valiente/Europa Press via Getty Images)
The first testimony was given by Paloma Zafrilla, whose 26-year-old brother is severely disabled. She shared that, “He’s like a 6-month-old child.” Zafrilla testified to the value of her brother’s life and the joy he brings to her family, despite his disabilities. She concluded with an excellent summary of the dignity of every human life: “A life is never less of a life according to what your abilities are…we are not machines and our value is not based on what we produce.”
The second testimony was given by Clare and Diego, made more powerful by the fact that their three children were with them on stage. The youngest, Felipe, was diagnosed at 20 weeks gestation with a congenital heart disease and his parents were told he wouldn’t survive. However, this prediction didn’t come true, and thankfully the doctors did everything they could to save Felipe once he was born. His parents could have aborted Felipe and listened to the false rhetoric that abortion would save their son from a life of suffering. But Clare and Diego chose life, saying, “Yes, it has been complicated, but full of joy.”
The march, as always, ended with a powerful, breathtaking moment. Balloons were released into the sky, and the sound of a baby’s heartbeat at 25 weeks was played — the only sound in a completely silent crowd of thousands, praying for the whole world to say yes to life.
