Spaniards protest ‘dictatorial’ abortion law reform

Spain’s conservative government has provoked a storm among women’s groups with plans to tighten abortion laws that make the procedure illegal in cases where the foetus is deformed.

Hundreds took part in a rally in Madrid’s central Tirso de Molina square to protest against the proposed reform, which they say will take Spain back to the era of General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.

The crowd, mostly women, chanted: “We give birth, we decide,” and: “Not one step back.”