In September 2014, the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy decided to suspend the reform of the 2010 abortion law that was approved under the socialist government of Jose Luis Zapatero, because of internal division over the legislative project. Though in July the justice minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon affirmed that the law would be approved “by the end of the summer” – technically before September 21, governmental sources told the daily El Mundo that the project was temporarily – others said definitely – suspended. Internal divisions over the reform intensified after the electoral defeat suffered by the ruling party Popular Party (PP), interpreted as a confirmation of its unpopularity among voters.

The main point of dispute regarded the elimination of the right to about if a foetus was malformed. Currently the abortion law voted under the socialist government of Jose Luis Zapatero in 2010 allows women to abort during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, or 22 weeks in case of a foetal malformation. Under the reform, an abortion would only be authorized in two cases: if two distinct doctors could certify that the mother’s life or physical or psychological health was endangered, or in case of a rape, under the condition that it had been previously reported to the police.