The progressive majority of the Constitutional Court plans to knock down the paper on the recourse to the abortion law approved in 2010 and which will be reviewed thirteen years later. The speaker, the conservative magistrate Enrique Arnaldo, endorses a large part of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's law except for a single article that he considers should be declared unconstitutional. It is about 17.5, related to the previous information that must be given to the woman.
For the speaker, with the current regulation, it is not ensured that the woman is "duly informed before making her decision", which affects the constitutionality of both the rights of women and the protection of the unborn.
It also proposes two consistent interpretations. The first, on therapeutic abortion, to specify that when talking about health it refers to the physical or mental but not to the social. The other point is made about the conscientious objection of health professionals, among whom, in his opinion, should include all the professionals involved.
Cándido Conde-Pumpido, president of the TC, placed among his priorities when he was elected the review of an appeal that the PP presented at the time and that has been blocked for more than a decade due to the lack of agreement in the body. According to court sources, the forecast is that the majority will vote against the paper, considering that the rule should be declared constitutional in its entirety.
If this happens, Arnaldo has the option of modifying his text himself or resigning as rapporteur, in which case another magistrate would take over to modify it and bring it back to plenary session as soon as possible. This resource is seen at the gates of the approval of a new law on the subject that is broader than the current one.
In any case, before going into the substance of the debate, on Tuesday the plenary session of the TC must study the challenges raised against the president and three other magistrates. One of them, Concepción Espejel, already decided to abstain because she was a member of the General Council of the Judiciary at that time. However, Juan Carlos Campo, Inmaculada Montalbán and Conde-Pumpido have refused to leave. If these challenges are accepted, the court would be left without a quorum to form a plenary session.
