Spain’s Catholic bishops are urging church members to protest abortion legislation that would allow girls as young as 16 to terminate pregnancies without parental consent. “This law is a step backward, as far as defending the right to life of those who are to be born is concerned. It means a greater abandonment of pregnant mothers and irreparable damage to the common good,” the bishops’ Permanent Commission said in an Oct. 1 statement.
“The lay faithful are rightly responding to the challenge posed, with great moral and social transcendence, by using their right to a peaceful demonstration in order to express their opposition,” the bishops said. The statement was issued amid preparations for a massive protest Oct. 17 in Madrid against the planned liberalizing of abortion laws; the changes were initiated by Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The bishops’ statement said they considered the rally, which organizers hope will attract more than 1 million people, “justified and appropriate.”
MADRID, Spain (CNS)