In Spain, teenagers cannot drink alcohol or smoke until they turn 18.
They also can't get a tattoo or piercing without their parents' consent.
But they can decide, for example, to get breast implants when they turn 16 years old.
In 2010, a new law will grant one more right to 16-year-old girls:
the ability to get an abortion freely, without the need for their parents' permission.
If in our country, it is legal to have intercourse with someone from the age of 13 onward,
and we also see that sex among adolescents begins before coming of age,
so then we must also be consistent concerning the consequences that those sexual relations might have.
Villagrasa is an expert on childhood and adolescent rights.
He believes that the new law, which reforms one passed in 1985, is consistent with the country's social reality.
According to official data, the number of abortions in women under 20 have tripled in a decade,
reaching 15,000 abortions per year.
But pro-life groups have reacted immediately.
What we expect is that children will play with fire, but then we will give them a Band-Aid.
Esperanza Coll says that allowing these adolescents to have an abortion without their parents' consent
is an attack against parental rights and responsibilities.
It seems to me that this law is making parents appear as if they were monsters,
as if they were not looking after the well-being of their daughter.
But "Daddy State" comes and he knows what is right for the daughter.
Many parents also worry about the government's decision.
The Federation of Associations of Parents of Secondary School Students of Catalonia is a progressive group
that defends a young girl's capacity to make decisions.
Nevertheless, it claims that parents should be, at the very least, informed.
Families can never be left out, never. That is the last thing that should happen.
The majority of Spanish society doesn't agree that 16-year-olds should be able to get an abortion on their own.
In May, a poll conducted by the leftist newspaper, "El PaÌs,"
showed that 64 percent of Spaniards is against the measure.
I am very surprised by the reaction of parents who have complained loudly about the fact
that their daughters can get an abortion without them knowing.
But then, nobody has made a fuss about the fact that their daughters have gotten pregnant,
or about the fact that their daughters are having sexual intercourse without taking precautions.
I think that either they have not reflected enough on the matter,
or that we live in a very hypocritical society.
As the president of a feminist association, Gemma Lienas points out that the girls who will benefit the most from this law
are those who don't have a good relationship with their parents.
I believe that it is the kind of worry that shouldn't exist because, in reality, when there is a good relationship
between the daughter and the parents, the logical thing to do in such a terrible situation as is the case
of an unwanted pregnancy and having to get an abortion, is for the girl to talk to her mother or father.
Therefore, the cases in which the girls won't say a word are the ones in which
she would be manipulated or treated in the harshest way by her family.
In other countries, such as France, the adolescent must inform an adult,
even though that person does not have to be her parent.
Psychologists consider this measure to be more appropriate.
It is good to listen to what they want in a circumstance such as this, which will have such an impact
on their story, whatever may happen in the future.
But, on the other hand, it is important to highlight that we are talking about
a very vulnerable stage in their lives, and therefore it is very important to count on the psychological aid
of an adult -- with people who might be an emotional point of reference for the girl.
The new law hopes to end the risks that some women take when getting abortions,
subjecting themselves to abortion with few safety measures, in illegal clinics.
With the same objective, the so-called "morning-after pill" is already available in pharmacies
without a prescription --
another decision that has scandalized the most conservative sectors of society.
I believe that conflicts always burst in relation to sexual affairs and, above all,
in relation to the sexual affairs of girls and women.
The article on 16-year-old girls has been the most written about in the media,
even though the new law's fundamental change is the fact that abortion will be legalized
up to 14 weeks of gestation and that it will be underwritten by the Public Health System.
The worst thing about the new law is that it turns something that used to be a crime into a legal right.
Even though the Socialist government has the support of the majority of the political parties,
the church, the conservative opposition and pro-life groups are preparing massive demonstrations
during the months in which the law will be processed in Parliament.