The Generalitat of Catalonia takes measures to protect the privacy of women
The Generalitat of Catalonia has made the decision to prohibit anti-abortion rallies in front of medical centers where women go to voluntarily terminate their pregnancies. This measure seeks to guarantee the privacy and well-being of the women who attend these clinics.
The resolution of the Ministry of the Interior is based on the detection of a campaign by the ultra-Catholic group ’40 days for life’ that sought to reactivate the harassment of women during the Lent period. The General Directorate of Security Administration has issued a resolution prohibiting demonstrations in front of the doors of the clinics and has communicated this decision to the ultra-Catholic association.
The legal context and the importance of protecting women
Since April 2022, the Penal Code contemplates harassment of women at the doors of abortion clinics as a specific crime. This measure was promoted by a PSOE bill, supported by left-wing groups, with the aim of putting an end to the impunity of ultra-Catholic groups that have been operating in these centers for years. However, both the PP and Vox voted against this law.
Ultra-Catholic groups usually stand in front of the doors of medical centers with anti-abortion posters and sometimes go so far as to directly scold women. Given the concentrations announced by the group ’40 days for life’ in Barcelona and other cities in Spain during Lent, the Generalitat has taken measures to protect women. Visual contact between ultras and patients has been prohibited, as well as the visibility of banners and posters from the entrances to health centers. Furthermore, their proclamations cannot be heard from inside the clinics.
Duration of the concentrations and response of the Generalitat
According to the ’40 days for life’ website, the rallies in front of the clinics, which are planned to be held in three centers in Barcelona, will last from February 17 to March 24. The group has also announced twenty more demonstrations in the rest of Spain.
The Generalitat has made it clear that these measures are taken to protect the privacy and well-being of women who go to abortion clinics. The objective is to ensure that they can exercise their right to voluntarily terminate their pregnancy without being harassed or intimidated.
