Today marks three years since the Spanish Supreme Court ordered the partial unblocking
of Women on Web’s website — a ruling that has yet to be enforced. For over 20 years,
Women on Web has advanced abortion rights worldwide by providing accurate information
and support online. Its censorship —and the ongoing failure to comply with the Court’s
ruling— has deprived thousands of people seeking abortions of reliable, science-based
information and care. That is why today we call for the immediate implementation of the
decision and an end to censorship that violates human rights.
“Abortion access today depends on an open Internet, as more people seek answers
and resources online, especially young people. It is fundamentally wrong that
reliable online information is restricted and censored while disinformation is
allowed to spread freely in digital spaces. Internet censorship has life-altering
consequences for abortion seekers and puts lives at risk,” shared Venny Ala-Siurua,
Women on Web’s Executive Director.
Although abortion is legal in Spain, Women on Web’s website was fully blocked in 2020.
The order came from the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), part
of the Ministry of Health, without any prior judicial authorization. This act of censorship
coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, a period in which women, girls, and other people
who can become pregnant faced heightened barriers to sexual and reproductive health
services.
In 2021, Women on Web decided to resist. With the support of Women’s Link Worldwide,
we filed a lawsuit before Spanish courts challenging the government’s action. The case not
only sought to restore access to the site, but also to defend the right to seek and share
information online about sexual and reproductive health, including safe abortion.
“As anti-rights groups grow in power and influence worldwide, the Internet has
become a key source for sex education and information on safe abortion for many
people. Protecting accurate information about sexual and reproductive rights is
vital for reproductive autonomy. When women and gender-diverse people have
easy access to reliable and scientific information, they are better able to enjoy
healthy sexuality, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and access prenatal healthcare
and safe abortion services. We needed to act,” said Gema Fernández, managing
attorney at Women’s Link Worldwide.
On October 3, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Women on Web, ordering only the
partial unblocking of the website. In its decision, the Court recognized that the information,
recommendations, and opinions on sexual and reproductive health shared through the
platform are protected under the rights to information and freedom of expression.
According to the Spanish Constitution, the site could not be fully blocked without judicial
authorization.
“Governments and big tech companies are increasingly blocking access to life-saving
information on women’s health worldwide, and feminist organizations are fighting back,”
shared Gema Fernández from Women’s Link Worldwide. “We succeeded in getting a legal
ruling confirming that the right to provide and access reliable online information about safe
abortion—including access to abortion pills—deserves constitutional protection from
censorship. We established a standard through legal arguments, which has allowed us to
share what we have learned with other organizations facing similar censorship”.
The Court also underscored the essential role of organizations that promote reproductive
rights, noting that their work carries a political dimension in contemporary societies. It
stressed the particular importance of this work for people living in vulnerable situations —
such as women experiencing poverty or violence, those living far from clinics, or migrants
in irregular situations— for whom online access to safe abortion information can be vital.
“We celebrated the ruling as an important recognition of our rights to freedom of
expression and access to information”, shared Veronica Fernández Montes,
Operations Manager at Women on Web. “In reality, the website remains blocked as
the partial unblocking was impossible to implement, a double standard where
rights are acknowledged in theory but denied in practice.”
In July 2023, AEMPS informed the Supreme Court that it could not comply with its ruling
because partially unblocking the website was not technically possible. As a result, the
website would remain entirely blocked. This reasoning is unacceptable: if partial
unblocking cannot be carried out as ordered by the court, full restoration should follow.
Any other outcome amounts to a blatant violation of the right to access crucial, life-saving
information about abortion.
Women’s Link and Women on Web continue their litigation efforts in Spain, asking the
courts to unblock the website and to put an end to abortion censorship by upholding
reproductive freedom of expression.
