Spanish youth call on government to keep pro-life promises

Madrid, Spain, Sep 18, 2014 / 20:29 pm

A pro-life youth organization in Spain is asking the government to move forward with its reform of the country's abortion laws, saying young people will oppose the party if it does not keep it's pro-life pledges.

Alvaro Ortega, president of the pro-life youth group +Vida, warned Spanish president Mariano Rajoy that if his government does not keep its promise to reform the country's abortion law in order to grant protection to the unborn and pregnant women, the organization will call on voters not to support the ruling People's Party.
 
"We demand the government fulfill its commitment, and if it does not keep its electoral promise, it will have to face us. We are going to demand the government keep its word, and if not, we will take to the streets and call on the rest of the pro-life associations to summon all citizens to the street, and if by the time elections come this is not done, we will ask people not to vote for the PP," Ortega said.

Late last year, the People's Party introduced legislation that would ban abortion except in cases of rape or a doctor-verified risk to the mother's health. However, local reports now indicate that the party is planning to drop the pro-life effort, reportedly due to electoral concerns.
 
In response to rumors that Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz Gallardon would step down if a reform is not adopted, Ortega said his organization supports Gallardon and believes he has made a "maximum effort" to move the reform forward.
 
For this reason, the organization is appealing directly to Rajoy "that he keep this promise" of passing the law and include in the reform comprehensive support for pregnant women.

"If the law on abortion is overturned but there is no support for maternity, we are not really moving forward," Ortega explained.

"We are going to wait to see what the final decision is of the government," he said. "We hope it chooses the right path, which we think is the approval of this measure. If this is not the case, we will carry out a campaign, all the young people are going to be there to call on the government to keep its word and we will take to the streets," Ortega said.