Spain’s proposed abortion restrictions are very unpopular among Spaniards, and there are signs that some in the government may have retreated from the hardline legislation that, if passed, would be one of the toughest abortion laws in Europe. The law proposed by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in December 2013 would permit abortion only if the pregnancy threatened a woman’s life, which would require the certification of two doctors, or in the case of rape, which requires filing a police report. Since 1985, women have been able to obtain abortion upon request within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, or later if there are life-threatening health problems.

In March, the parliament of Extremadura, a region in western Spain, passed a motion requesting that the government halt the legal reform process, the EFE news service reported. In June, Spain’s General Council of the Judiciary came out in favor of widening the cir-cum-stances in which abortion is allowed to include fatal fetal abnormalities, according to the Spanish newspaper El País. This news came after Fr. José María Gil Tamayo, secretary-general of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, expressed his ongoing opposition to abortion in all cases, including fetal abnormality, which he said was not negotiable.

The legislation, spearheaded by Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, is likely to come up for a vote in Congress by the end of the year. According to a poll cited by the Spanish newspaper El Diario, almost 75 percent of Spaniards oppose stricter abortion laws, including the majority of voters from the Partido Popular, Gallardón’s own party.