According to the organisers, more than one million people gathered in Madrid to protest against the proposed liberalisation of the abortion law.

It is a huge increase on a similar rally in March which attracted an estimated 100,000 people. The new law would allow the procedure on demand for women of 16 and over, without their parents’ knowledge It would be available within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. This is the latest ethical flashpoint between the Catholic right and the socialist government One protestor said: “Yes, women have the right to choose, but only over their own bodies, not over other lives.” Another demonstrator said: “The government is trying to sell us the idea that this is about women and the right to choose, and that this is progress for women. But murdering defenseless babies will never be a right”. In this overwhelming Roman Catholic country, the socialist government has so far succeeded in legalising gay marriage and making divorce easier.More about: Spain

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