SW News: Spanish bishops have decried a Constitutional Court ruling that approved the 2010 abortion law as a woman's right. The Episcopal Conference has urged the faithful to oppose this attack on the unborn and to defend the culture of life.

"We encourage all members of the people of God and all people of goodwill to reject any attack on life and continue working with courage and creativity to establish the much-needed culture of life," stated the bishops. Along the same lines, they also support health professionals to exercise their right to conscientious and scientific objection to save the lives of the unborn.

Reminding that a fetus is a human being, the prelates said that "qualifying the voluntary elimination of the life of an innocent human being as a right is always morally wrong." They added that endorsing abortion as a woman's right would make the unborn child a candidate for expulsion from the womb.

Meanwhile, the bishops also supported women who underwent unwanted pregnancies. They reminded the expecting women that abortion is not a solution and offered them effective services of the Church. They also criticized that the father's rights and obligations are censored under the new legislation.

With the Spanish Apex Court approving abortion reform introduced in 2010, abortion is now available until the 14th week of pregnancy or until the 22nd week, if the mother or baby is at risk. Previously, abortion was only allowed in cases of pregnancy caused by rape, if the mother's health was at risk, or if the fetus was malformed.

The 2010 legislation also allowed girls aged 16 and 17 to have abortions as long as they informed their parents or legal guardians. However, the recent change introduced enables minor girls to terminate their pregnancy without parental consent.