There were some 6,000 fewer abortions in Spain last year under the legislation adopted by the previous Socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, which the ruling Popular Party intends to replace with a much stricter law. The figure represents a five-percent decrease in the number of voluntary terminations, contradicting forecasts from conservative sectors that the 2010 law, which allowed a woman to abort freely at any time up to 14 weeks of gestation, would lead to a spike in the number of Spaniards doing just that.

The Health Ministry's annual report shows that 12 out of every 1,000 women of childbearing age terminated a pregnancy in 2012, a half-percentage point fewer than the previous year. Experts attribute the drop to several factors, including a decrease in the number immigrants in the population and the increased use of contraceptives.

Last year, a total of 112,390 women terminated a pregnancy in Spain. Of these, 91.3 percent freely chose to do so within the 14-week time limit laid out in the 2010 law. That right is now set to be eliminated under draft legislation approved Friday by the Popular Party (PP) Cabinet, which only permits a termination in the case of rape or a serious health risk.