1st Legal Abortion Rejected in Spain

GIJON, Spain — Doctors at a state-run hospital refused to terminate the pregnancy of the first woman to seek a legal abortion in Spain since the lifting of a 40-year ban, health officials said Thursday.

“No one wants to be seen as the first doctor to perform an abortion,” said a spokesman at the Cabuenes Hospital in the northern port city of Gijon.

The six gynecologists declined on grounds it was against their conscience.

The 22-year-old woman, whose identity was not disclosed, is 11 weeks pregnant and the mother of two young children, both severely retarded. Specialists said there was a 25% chance the unborn child suffers the same congenital deficiency.