Bill would punish harassment outside clinics where abortions are performed

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The bill would add a new Article 172 quater to the Criminal Code. It would punish with three months to one year in prison, or community service, anyone who harasses a woman with annoying, offensive, intimidating or coercive acts to stop her from ending her pregnancy.
2. The same penalties would apply to anyone who harasses health workers, or the medical or management staff of these clinics, to stop them from doing their job.
3. The court could also ban the offender from certain places for six months to three years. Reporting the crime by the victim would not be needed to prosecute these acts.
4. The statement of reasons justifies the bill by constant harassment outside these clinics. It cites a 2018 report saying that 89 % of the women surveyed had felt harassed and 66 % threatened.

Who it affects

• Women attending these clinics: Women going to clinics to end their pregnancy would be protected from harassment.
• Health and management staff at the clinics: Health workers and clinic staff would also be protected, and anyone harassing them could be punished.
• Anyone who harasses to obstruct an abortion: Could face prison, community service, and a ban from certain places.

Words worth knowing

Proposición de Ley Orgánica

A bill to change an 'ley orgánica' (organic law), a Spanish law on major matters. It is still being processed, so it is not an approved law yet.

Trabajos en beneficio de la comunidad

Community service: unpaid work for the community for a number of days instead of prison.

Tribunal

The Spanish court that judges the case and sets the penalty.

It summarizes the drafting committee report. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries