Abortion Advocates in Spain, With Government Help, Repress Pro-Life Views

From http://lifenews.com/int1054.html

Abortion Advocates in Spain, With Government Help, Repress Pro-Life Views
by Carlos BeltramoJanuary 16, 2009

LifeNews.com Note: Carlos Beltramo is a Spanish representative of Population Research International, a pro-life group that focuses on international abortion issues and population control.
addthis_pub = 'sertelt';

Email RSS Print
On December 28th, 2008: two celebrations coincided for Catholics worldwide: the Feast of the Holy Family, and that of the Holy Innocents, who were murdered en masse by the madness of a sadistic king.
For the Spaniards, it was far more than just a date.
It is estimated that an excess of 1,000,000 people were present in Madrid’s Colón Plaza, for the “Second Mass of the Families.” These faithful Spainiards were present to publicly manifest their faith in the most important principles of the family: the union between one man and one woman, who defend life, starting from conception.
Some are already calling this Mass the Spanish equivalent of the annual American March for Life, held in Washington, DC.
The Mass began with a message from Pope Benedict XVI from Rome, transmitted on giant screens. The Pope encouraged Spaniards to continue defending life and family in this difficult hour. The celebration was presided over by the Archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Cardinal Maria Rouco Varela, alongside 30 bishops and more than 300 priests. So large was the Mass that 500 stations for the distribution of communion were necessary.
Families from all over Spain were present, undeterred by the cold weather. Their intention was two-fold: to celebrate the family, and to show society that many Spainiards still disagree with the government’s anti-life policies, which include greater access to abortion, euthanasia, among others.

The Cardinal spoke courageously and clearly, saying that it is “possible and urgent to overcome the culture of the death with the culture of life.” He continued, saying that “it is shocking, the number of those sacrificed to the overwhelming cruelty of abortion, one of the most terrible blights on our time, a time so proud of itself and its progress.”
The emotional applause of the massed crowd was deafening—more than a million souls begging for an end to the terrible crime of abortion.
But not everything that transpired that day was friendly to the pro-life cause.
That same morning, few kilometers away, a group of young people carried out a peaceful gathering (like many others who were carried out all over Spain) in front of the Dator Clinic, a notorious Spanish abortion center. They arrived early, put white crosses in the ground and sat down on the sidewalk, where they remained without doing anything else. Police were present, but the pro-life protesters were determined not to give them the smallest excuse to act.
It turned out that the police did not need to wait for a reason.
All at once, without any provocation, they began to attack the seated boys and girls. The aggression increased until they arrested Jesús Poveda, doctor and university professor, and a pro-life girl named Silvia. They threw Jesús to the floor and handcuffed him, took them both to the police department. According to the police report, those they arrested had “jumped over the security cord,” which is impossible, since all were seated at the time of the police attack.
In the evening both were set free, but only after being charged with aggression against authority. In order to avoid the interpretations to which situations like this are prone, we have made available two testimonies that show the police brutality.
The first is a series of photos taken by Ignacio Arsuaga from HazteOir.com (who had to protect his camera from police, who threatened to destroy it. The second is footage from a TV channel, which shows the peacefulness of the march, and the violence of the police, who pinned Jesús Poveda to the floor and handcuffed like a criminal.

All this did not pass unnoticed by Spain’s socialist government, led by president Zapatero.
To counter the powerful words of Cardinal Rouco, members of the Zapatero’s party publicly ramped up their pro-abortion rhetoric. According to statements given to EuropaPress, Ramon Jáuregui, secretary of the socialist majority in the congress, intends to push legislation that will make abortion legal in the first 12 weeks of gestation, solely according to the wish of the mother. No further reason will be required (see the video).
To say the least, this law, if passed, will favor abortion businesses like the Dator Clinic.
As a result of the weekend, it is clear that an epic battle has begun in Spain, a battle within the larger culture war. In this war, as usual, the most vulnerable in society are the first at risk.

Buzz up!