'Because I Decide': Thousands March to Defend Abortion Rights in Spain

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/02/01-1



Protestors march to the Spanish Parliament during a protest against government's plan to implement restrictions on abortion in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014. The banner reads "…Because I decide. Train of Freedom."

'Because I Decide': Thousands March to Defend Abortion Rights in Spain
- Sarah Lazare, staff writer
Published on Saturday, February 1, 2014 by Common Dreams

Tens of thousands filled the streets of Madrid Saturday to demand lawmakers reject a proposed bill that would drastically limit abortion rights to cases of rape and extreme physical danger only.

Banners declared "Because I decide" and "It's my right, it's my life" as the massive crowd marched to Parliament in the largest protest since Spain's ruling conservative government backed the anti-choice legislation in December.

People from across Spain joined in the demonstration, which was organized by dozens of women's rights, feminist, and reproductive justice groups. Numbered among the protesters was a "freedom train" of at least 100 people who had traveled from Gijon in the north.

Many of the bill's opponents warn it threatens to set back the clock on women's rights to the era of fascist rule under dictator Francisco Franco.