Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, who championed the reform, has resigned from his post as justice minister

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has withdrawn a bill which would have reformed abortion law in Spain, limiting its availability only to cases of rape that have been reported to the police and cases where the mother's health is considered to be in danger.

Currently, Spain's law allows abortion on demand up until 14 weeks. Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, the justice minister who championed the reform, resigned from his post soon after it was announced that the bill had been withdrawn. [Irish Times, 24 September]

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• Forced abortion performed in China on mother, pregnant with nine-month old twins  [LifeNews.com, 23 September]