Spain's governing socialists, meeting at a congress in Madrid, said Saturday they wanted the law on abortion to be relaxed in the predominantly Catholic country.Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said the socialists wanted to draw on the "most innovative European laws governing circumstances and time limits."
Late last year Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who was re-elected in March 2008, ruled out any reform of the country's abortion laws although he said his administration was "open to reflection" on the issue.
Abortion has been de-criminalised in Spain, since 1985, in only three specific sets of circumstances: for rape victims (within 12 weeks); where there are foetal deformities (22 weeks); and when "the mother's physical or psychological health is in danger" (with no time limitation).
The vast majority of 91,000 abortions reported in 2005 were attributed to "psychological" health risk, sometimes performed after six, seven or eight months' pregnancy.
Meanwhile, the socialists also made it clear they were committed to strengthening secularism.
The party publicised its support for the "gradual disappearance of religious symbols and liturgies in public spaces and in official state proceedings," in a text broadcast on Saturday.
The move, aimed at amending a religious freedom law, risks a return to the confrontation between Church and government that marked Zapatero's first term.
One consequence of the party's proposals, if implemented, would be removal of crucifixes from public buildings, the daily El Pais said.
The text does not demand a revision of agreements between the Church and State but does ask for a rebalancing in favour of minority religions.
According to El Pais, the Spanish State indirectly subsidises the Roman Catholic Church and other Catholic organisations to the tune of more than four billion euros (6.3 billion dollars) a year.
Other religions, in particular Islam with some three million followers, barely receive three million euros a year.
Relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Zapatero's government remain strained following liberal social reforms including gay marriage and easier divorce.
The socialist government argues the promotion of secular values is key to the modernisation of Spain, which has become more multicultural and undergone a liberal transformation in the three decades since the death of right-wing dictator Francisco Franco.
The Church which was close to Franco's regime backed several large protests in defence of the family and just before March's general election Spain's bishops issued a note of "moral guidance" advising against voting for the socialists.
The Catholic Church remains influential in Spain, a country which is officially 80 percent Catholic but where only about 40 percent practise the religion.
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