Abortion is the first cause of death”In Spain abortion has become the first cause of death” said Eduardo Hertfelder – President of the Institute for Family Policy (Ipf) in his introductory remarks to the report “Abortion in Spain: 21 years later (1985-2006)” which the Ipf is due to publish soon. According to the report in 2006 there was an abortion every 5.3 minutes, that is, 270 abortions a day. One on 6 pregnancies terminates with an abortion (15.8% in the year 2006). The IPF registers a lack of transparency in the Administration, and claims it is not determined to face this serious problem. According to the IPF “Spain’s terrible demographic unbalance which would require at least 105.000 more newborns per year, could be realized with the enactment of policies giving more information and support to mothers who practice abortion who would otherwise have children”. For this reason the IPF asks the development of preventive policies based on four pillars: sensitization and awareness of the importance and of the social and personal value of birth, pregnancy and maternity; increase of public resources in the form of services and preventive measures along with the introduction of support measures to pregnant women. A number of organizations asked to review abortion legislation, given the many abuses. As the President of the Spanish Family Forum Benigno Blanco affirmed, “there is enough evidence that many clinics don’t respect the rules nor the limits on pregnancy interruption envisaged by the law” .
