History on the Edge: Between the Hospital and the Clinic: Abortion Providers and Techniques in Spain (1970s-2020s)
You are kindly invited to a new lecture in the History on the Edge series, which will take place on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at the INZ premises or via the ZOOM link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84664422400?pwd=b61EIvRBkMcapTCUwbscnA3NtuNS6K.1 . In the new season, lectures will take place at 10:30 and if you will be joining us in person, you are welcome to a coffee 20 minutes before the lecture begins.
The lecture will be given by María Mundi-López, and the title of the lecture is “Between the Hospital and the Clinic: Abortion Providers and Techniques in Spain (1970s-2020s)”. The lecture will be held in English.
Between the Hospital and the Clinic: Abortion Providers and Techniques in Spain (1970s-2020s)
The lack of a national implementation plan for the partial decriminalization of abortion in Spain in 1985, in combination with widespread conscientious objection among hospital professionals, led to the concentration of abortion provision in an unevenly distributed network of private clinics, many of which had been founded by former activist providers. Regional disparities were compounded by the devolvement of healthcare management to the autonomous communities: only a handful of regions secured agreements with private clinics to ensure the cost of abortions would be reimbursed by the public health system. The authorization of medication abortion in Spain during the late 1990s renewed hopes for abortion access via the public healthcare system. However, regional discrepancies in access to abortion and technique usage have continued through the legalization of abortion on demand up to 14 weeks in 2010 to the present day. Through analysis of newspapers, ministry reports, scientific publications, parliamentary proceedings, and personal narratives by providers, I explore the historical configuration of abortion provision in Spain, and the perspectives, training and trajectories of abortion providers working in public and private healthcare.
Zgodovina na Špici / History on the Edge
