Community of Madrid: government 'supports abortion on demand and euthanasia'

Madrid, Spain, Sep 17, 2008 / 14:16 pm

The vice president of the Community of Madrid, Ignacio Gonzalez, said this week that the country’s national government “is in favor of abortion on demand and euthanasia, even though it pretends to hide its position from Spaniards.” Gonzalez also accused President Jose Luis Zapatero of creating a false debate over the urgency of legal guarantees in an attempt “to hide what is behind certain court rulings.”

In statements to the Circulo de Telemadrid reprinted by Europa Press, Gonzalez said the government’s proposed reform of the law on abortion was “surprising” as there was not public outcry for such a move “until it was shown that there had been a fraudulent application of the law in abortion clinics, where the procedure was being performed in cases not contemplated by the law.”

Gonzalez also accused the government of “deceiving citizens” regarding its proposal on euthanasia, which it described as assisted suicide.  He called on Zapatero to admit that the government “is in favor of someone unilaterally deciding to end his or her life.”

Gonzalez pointed to the existence of palliative care and pain management units “that help everyone experience death with dignity.” At the same time he singled out a group of doctors at the Severo Ochoa Hospital in Leganes for malpractice, alleging that they improperly administered sedatives to patients.

He also accused the Spanish socialist party of diverting attention away from the issue by claiming the doctors had been professionally mistreated, when in reality they have continued in their practice with impunity and are hiding the fact that they support euthanasia.