After a heated debate, the votes of the conservative parties Popular Party (PP) and Vox passed a motion to make the Spanish city of Cordoba a ‘City open to Life’.

Eva Contador, a councillor of the city government who is a committed evangelical Christian, was key in this pro-life move. She presented the motion in the town council debate, stating the negative effects of abortion. “There are countries where children with Down's syndrome and other disabilities are no longer born”, she said.

Speaking at the town hall, Contador stressed that the first human right “is the right to life” and that “this is not about politics or religion”. According to Contador, for years, abortion has been accepted as a “form of anti-conception”, leading to more abortions than children being born in Spain.

She acknowledged that the current law in Spain allows abortion, but that just as life ends with the last heartbeat, there is life in the first heartbeat of the unborn child.

That is why, “respecting the decision and freedom of each woman” granted by law, she continued, a true freedom of choice must include awareness of all the options available, and real support for women whose pregnancy is challenging.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Vox, Paula Badanelli, added that in Cordoba there are over 1,300 people who decide to have an abortion every year, with a high number of minors and women who have more than one abortion.

The agreements

The commitment made by the local government also includes to promote “real support for life through talks, reports, press releases and information leaflets, presented and given by organisations and experts in the field”.

The aim is to create “a specific area to raise awareness about the reality of abortion and its consequences, with conferences and talks in schools”, where the most vulnerable groups are.

The PP city councillors also pledged to “reorganise the City Council with sufficient resources to set up a specific permanent information and counselling service for pregnant women, with detailed and objective information on abortion and its physical, psychological and emotional consequences”.

Furthermore, they are going to set up a specific programme to help teenage girls and their families so that in the event of pregnancy “if they choose to keep their baby, they can continue with their studies, with permanent psychological support and information on whether to keep their baby or give it up for adoption, through specific adoption programs with official institutions and foundations”.

Finally, the Cordoba city government will keep and reinforce “the current agreements with associations, platforms and foundations that advocate and fight for life”.