The Madrid region, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has confirmed it will not create the registry of conscientious objectors to abortion, leaving the decision to the courts as the deadline set by the Health Ministry expires. Unlike Aragón and the Balearic Islands, also PP-governed, which have agreed to implement it, Madrid chooses defiance. Health Minister Mónica García insists there is still time until midnight to comply with the law.
On Friday, November 14, 2025, the one-month deadline set by the central government's Health Ministry for Madrid, Aragón, and the Balearic Islands to establish the registry of doctors who, due to conscientious objection, refuse to perform voluntary pregnancy interruptions in public health expires. Madrid's Health Counselor, Fátima Matute, stated they have no intention of complying: “We prefer a court to decide what to do rather than a sectarian government”. Matute added: “In the Community of Madrid, we believe in legal, safe, and infrequent abortion. We will not point out or persecute those who abort or those who do or do not perform abortions”.
President Ayuso has been firm since October, when she exclaimed in a plenary session: “Go somewhere else to abort!”. At that time, she overruled her counselor, who had initially indicated compliance, but now confirms the refusal: “I am not going to make a list of doctors. Never. Never”. The registry, mandatory since the 2023 abortion law reform, has limited access and does not require reasons for objection; its purpose is to organize services to ensure women's right to abortion without discrimination.
While Aragón and the Balearic Islands have yielded after the requirement, Madrid relies on the courts. Minister Mónica García replied on X: “We will respect the deadline, they still have time”, and will hold a press conference on Saturday. García previously criticized: “Ayuso has been wrong twice over, believing herself above the law and women's rights”. The PSOE accuses Ayuso of being “insubordinate to women's rights” and sees this as a disavowal of PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who advocates complying with the law.
Abortion was legalized in Spain in 1985 under three assumptions and expanded in 2010 to be free up to the 14th week of pregnancy.