More than 100,000 people attended a march for life in Madrid, Spain, on June 26, 2022. / Credit: Courtesy of NEOS ComunicaciónMore than 100,000 people attended the June 26 march for life in Madrid, Spain, to show their opposition to the country’s proposed revisions to its abortion law as well as other bills that violate human dignity.
The march, which comprised more than 200 civil society organizations, was organized by the pro-life organizations NEOS, the Assembly of Associations for Life, Liberty, and Dignity, and the Every Life Matters Platform.
The parade’s starting point was the Bilbao roundabout, and its finish line was Plaza Colón.
The NEOS member Jaime Mayor Oreja stated that “the repeal of abortion in the United States informs us that the discussion on the culture of life is by no means done” during a presentation at the march. More than ever, we’re going to be present, united, and active.
In the face of persistent societal dysfunction, it is imperative to rally and protect the Christian roots of our society. We’re not here to discuss the past; rather, we’re here to spread knowledge and get ready for the discussion of the future, he continued.
The Assembly of Associations for Life, Freedom, and Dignity’s coordinator, Josep Miró, stated that the goal of this march is to “create the society of life and a new future where we combine forces for the purpose of working together.”
Carmen Fernández de la Cigoa, director of the Center for University Studies’ Institute for Family Studies, expressed regret over the changes to the abortion law that the government’s executive branch had approved, saying that the authorities “want to make us see it as moral that 16-year-old girls can go get an abortion without their families knowing about it, the people who love them the most and care about them the most.”
The Spanish Council of Ministers approved the change to the abortion law on May 17. The law would, among other things, permit females between the ages of 16 and 17 to obtain an abortion without parental permission.
The Congress of Deputies (lower house) will discuss and vote on the bill before sending it to the Senate.
According to Fernández de la Cigoa, the government aims to alter reality by promoting the idea that “killing is acceptable and humane” but that “caring, praying, and offering assistance to those in need is wrong.”
“You cannot dictate to society who should live and who should die. Every life matters, she explained.
More than 200 organizations came together to participate in the march, and Nayeli Rodrguez, national coordinator of the 40 Days for Life campaign in Spain, represented them.
She noted that since the country’s abortion law went into effect in 1985, more than 2.5 million abortions have been carried out there.