Madrid, Spain, Jan 11, 2005 / 22:00 pm
A mentally handicapped young woman in Avila, Spain, was taken by her parents to obtain an abortion, despite the hundreds of people who volunteered to care for the young woman and her child.
Pro-life groups in Spain said sources close to the family confirmed the abortion had taken place. A local Circuit Court Judge in Aviles, Jose Luis Niño, provided the legal shield for the parents to obtain the abortion.
Judge Niño ruled in favor of the parents last December 14, when they filed suit to allow their daughter to terminate her pregnancy because of her incapacity to carry out maternal duties.
The ruling provoked the mobilization of hundreds of pro-lifers. The Archdiocese of Oviedo, in which Aviles is located, published a statement on December 15 calling any attempt to submit the young woman to abortion “a grave attack.”