Spain’s government is demanding that all public healthcare systems create registries of doctors who refuse to perform abortions on conscience grounds—prompting strong backlash from pro-life advocates who warn this amounts to blacklisting.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has instructed regional administrations governed by conservatives to compile lists of “conscientious objectors” among medical professionals. He threatened that, if they fail to comply within three months, “appropriate legal mechanisms” will be used to enforce it. The government claims such registries are needed to ensure abortion services are available even in areas where doctors refuse to participate.
But physicians and pro-life groups are crying foul, calling the move a violation of both personal conscience and constitutional protections. José Antonio Díez, head of the National Association for the Defense of the Right to Conscientious Objection (ANDOC), blasted the plan as unconstitutional, saying: “Who can order private citizens to register in a registry that not even the Constitutional Court requires?” Eva Martín of ANDOC added that the register is essentially a professional blacklist targeting doctors who refuse to kill the unborn.
The backdrop to the registry push is Spain’s ongoing abortion expansion. A regulation now compels all public hospitals to perform abortions, even in regions where finding willing doctors has become a challenge. In conservative-led provinces like La Rioja, many hospital doctors decline participation. Some provinces reportedly hadn’t performed any abortions for years due to conscientious objection.
Sánchez defends the registry mandate by insisting that doctors’ objections must never obstruct “women’s healthcare.” But in demanding lists of objectors, his government is threatening the principle of conscience rights. If governments can force doctors onto registries for refusing to perform abortions, the pressure on medical professionals to betray their beliefs would be immense—and the cost to the unborn and to religious liberty would be stark.
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