Abortion laws in Spain allow anyone to end a pregnancy on request during the first 14 weeks, with access extending to 22 weeks when the pregnant person’s health is at serious risk or the fetus has grave anomalies, and beyond 22 weeks in rare cases of extremely severe fetal conditions confirmed by a clinical committee. The procedure is guaranteed as a free service in the public healthcare system under Organic Law 2/2010, as amended by Organic Law 1/2023, and in 2023 the Constitutional Court confirmed that this right flows directly from the Constitution.1Tribunal Constitucional de España. STC 44-2023 English Translation
Gestational Limits
Spanish law sets three windows for legal access, and which one applies depends entirely on how far along the pregnancy is.2Legal Information Institute. Sexual and Reproductive Health and Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy Law, Last Amendment March 1, 2023
Up to 14 weeks, abortion is available on request. You do not need a medical justification, a second opinion, or approval from anyone beyond your own written informed consent.
Between 14 and 22 weeks, the procedure is permitted when there is a serious risk to the life or health of the pregnant person, or when fetal anomalies incompatible with life or extremely serious and incurable conditions are detected. These cases require verification by a medical committee or two independent specialists.
Beyond 22 weeks, the time limit does not apply if extremely grave fetal abnormalities are diagnosed late in pregnancy. A multidisciplinary clinical committee at a specialized health center must confirm the diagnosis before the procedure goes forward.
Most abortions in Spain occur well within the first 14 weeks. The later windows exist because some serious fetal conditions cannot be detected earlier.
Cost and Public Coverage
Abortion is guaranteed as a free service within the public healthcare system. The procedure, the consultations around it, and the follow-up care are all covered by public funds when performed at a public hospital or at a private clinic contracted by the regional health authority. Patients should not face out-of-pocket costs.
Practice diverges from the law. As of 2024, public health centers accounted for only about 21% of all procedures, roughly double the figure from a decade earlier but still a small share. Most abortions still take place in private clinics. When patients are turned away from public hospitals or face long waits, some end up paying at private facilities, where reported costs range from roughly €300 to €700 depending on the type of procedure, gestational age, and clinic, with complex cases costing more. The 2023 reform is intended to shift this balance by pushing public hospitals to provide services directly, but that transition is still in progress.
How to Access the Procedure
The usual entry point is a primary care center or a gynecologist, who initiates a referral within the public health network. That referral is what ensures the procedure is covered by public funds and recorded properly in your medical file. From there, you are directed to either a public hospital or a contracted private clinic.
Before the procedure, the health system provides standardized information on the available methods, pharmacological or surgical, depending on gestational age. You review the materials and sign written informed consent. There is no mandatory delay between that session and the procedure itself.
Afterward, the health system provides follow-up care and offers contraceptive counseling. This aftercare is part of the standard protocol whether the procedure took place at a public or contracted private facility.
What Changed in 2023
Organic Law 1/2023 took effect in March 2023 and made three practical changes worth knowing about.
The mandatory three-day reflection period is gone. Before the reform, patients had to wait three days between receiving the required information and going through with the procedure. That requirement no longer exists, so you can proceed as soon as you and the medical team are ready.
Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can now consent to their own abortion. Under the previous rules, minors in this age group needed a parent or guardian to authorize the procedure. Since 2023, they provide their own legal consent, in line with how Spanish law generally treats medical decisions at that age. Anyone under 16 still needs the participation and consent of a legal guardian.
The reform also dropped the requirement that patients be given information about maternity benefits and adoption services as part of the abortion process.
Conscientious Objection
Individual healthcare workers can refuse to participate in abortions by registering as conscientious objectors. The law recognizes this as a personal right, and it has become one of the biggest practical barriers to access. In some regions and hospitals, so many doctors have registered objections that performing abortions at those facilities becomes effectively impossible.
To manage this, the 2023 reform requires every autonomous community to maintain a registry of conscientious objectors. Patients cannot see the registry, but hospital administrators use it to plan staffing so that objecting doctors can be replaced by willing ones. When a public hospital genuinely cannot perform the procedure because of staffing gaps caused by objection, the state is required to arrange and pay for the service at a contracted private facility. You should bear no additional cost or administrative burden in that situation.
Access Without Residency Papers
Spanish law guarantees access to abortion regardless of nationality or immigration status. An undocumented migrant has the same legal right to the procedure as a Spanish citizen.
A gap between law and practice remains. Since 2012, a separate law has restricted public healthcare access for undocumented migrants, and although the abortion law is meant to override that restriction, the conflict creates confusion at the point of care. Some regions require registration on the municipal census (padrón) before granting access, and migrants who have been in Spain fewer than three months may struggle to get into the system at all. Some people in this position end up paying at private clinics because the public system cannot process them in time. Advocacy organizations and women’s health groups can often help work around the administrative barriers.
Harassment Outside Clinics
The 2023 reform added Article 172 quater to the Penal Code, which criminalizes conduct intended to obstruct someone from exercising the right to end a pregnancy. This covers behavior that is annoying, offensive, intimidating, or coercive and undermines the patient’s freedom. Penalties range from three months to one year of imprisonment, or 31 to 80 days of community service.3Legal Information Institute. Codigo Penal Espanol Articulo 172 Quater – Of Coercion, on Hindering the Right to Voluntary Abortion
The law does not set a specific buffer-zone distance around clinics. It focuses on the conduct itself, so demonstrators who meet the legal definition of harassment face prosecution regardless of how far from the entrance they stand.
When Abortion Is Still a Crime
Abortion outside the legal framework remains a criminal offense. The Penal Code distinguishes between consensual and non-consensual illegal abortions, with much heavier penalties for procedures performed without the pregnant person’s agreement. Prosecutions are extremely rare in modern Spain, and the provisions function mainly as a backstop against coerced abortions and unlicensed practitioners. If you seek an abortion within the time limits and conditions above, through the regular medical channels, you face no criminal exposure.