Madrid, 5th November 2025,
Back in June, I went to an abortion clinic for an abortion, accompanied by two of my relatives. It wasn’t a very good time for me and what followed only added to the unnecessary stress and suffering.
As we arrived outside the clinic, somebody approached us, then another person joined them. Suddenly, standing in front of us were a man and a woman I had never seen before. When we tried to reach the entrance, they began shouting things like, “Abortion is not the solution,” “You are murderers,”“You’re crazy,” and blocked our way. One of the two individuals grabbed me and tried to shake me.
At the time, I felt attacked. These people didn’t know me. It seems completely reprehensible to me to shout things like that, especially when you know nothing about the person or their reasons for being there.
Nevertheless, we managed to enter the clinic, and saw the man who had been insulting us go into a building nearby. It was the Refugio Provida building (an anti-abortion center opened in 2022, editor’s note). In total, the clinic is surrounded by five anti-abortion organizations!
When I came out after my procedure, the police were waiting outside. The medical center staff had called the station when they saw what was happening; it’s routine for them. Similar things happen every day at clinics all over.
The activists who accosted me had also called the police and a few days later, we were summoned to the police station to recount what had happened.
I knew it was common for anti-abortion activists to hand out flyers, organize demonstrations outside medical centers, and even hold collective prayers near clinics, but I still wasn’t expecting a man to come and shout at me.
What happened didn’t prevent me from having an abortion, but it complicated my healing process. It also caused me additional worry, because I was concerned about what might happen to the people who accompanied me if there was ever a trial.
I don’t know what can be done to prevent this kind of aggression. The Penal Code has been amended to prohibit these acts (In 2022, the Spanish Congress of Deputies approved an amendment to the Penal Code that punishes gatherings outside clinics and provides for penalties ranging from three months to one year or community service of 31 to 80 days for this type of behavior, editor’s note). But these groups have changed their strategy to be able continue their activities. Under the pretext of having their headquarters right next door, they can loiter around clinics.
I know from clinic staff that at least one of the people who yelled at me is a repeat offender, that they have done the same thing on other occasions. I also know that they harass clinic employees—people who have to go to work every day and deal with this kind of situation. That’s the saddest part really, is that what happened to me could happen to anyone, it happens every day.
Lucia
*The first name has been changed.
