Spanish students have taken to the streets in protest against a new law restricting access to abortion, which many fear will take the country back decades. Under the new ruling, a woman will only be able to have a legal abortion if the pregnancy poses a threat to her life or physical or mental wellbeing, or if her pregnancy is a result of rape. It will also be possible in cases of severe foetal deformation.

These reforms have been met with widespread hostility. The new laws were introduced by the Partido Popular (PP), the People’s Party, which came to power in November 2011. It is Spain’s foremost right wing party and has strong links to the Catholic Church. On 20th December, the day the reform was passed, there were national protests against the proposed law, leading to arrests in the capital. Many of those taking part in the protests were female students whose futures may be affected by these reforms.

One female student from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, who was unable to protest but is strongly against the new law, said: “I believe the decision to abort has to be fully made by the woman and not by men in government who will never have to face the problems that some young women will have to face. “With a good social health plan that will provide free contraceptives and information about intercourse, then there should not be an increase in the number of abortions.”

This is a reversal of the law introduced in 2010 by the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party, and the changes will be more damaging for some women than for others. Women who cannot afford to go abroad to a private clinic for a safe abortion could well end up risking their lives undergoing a so-called ‘backstreet abortion’.

In Madrid, a woman was photographed begging on the streets with a sign asking for money to send her to London for an abortion. Abortion will now be considered a criminal offence if carried out to prevent the birth of a disabled baby. The cabinet states that discrimination because of disability is an infraction of a person’s human rights. Women will no longer be able to ask for abortions without giving a reason during the first eight weeks of pregnancy, and girls under eighteen will have to inform their parents if they want an abortion.

Supporters of the reform argue that it is progressive because of its equal treatment of all human beings, disregarding any disabilities the foetus might develop. Detractors argue that, as far as expectant mothers are concerned, the law does not ensure justice. After the PSOE’s 2010 law was introduced, there was no significant increase in the number of abortions, and between 2011 and 2012 there was a fall. The PP’s proposed reforms have yet to be passed by El Congreso de los Diputados and the Senate, the Spanish equivalents of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. If passed in both, the reforms will likely be set as law in September. Many are hoping that changes will be made to the initial proposals.