Judgment, 5 December 1986.
The Court reversed the decision of a lower court, which had convicted the defendant of the crime of abortion after she had an abortion outside of Spain.  It rejected the lower court's conclusion that the extraterritoriality clause of the Criminal Code should be applied because 1) the defendant had committed a legal fraud in trying to avoid punishment under the abortion law by having an abortion abroad and 2) the fetus, a future Spanish national, should be protected.  The Court held that the Criminal Code contains no provisions on fraud of this sort and that there is no legal basis for the attribution of nationality to a fetus.  It also held that application of the extraterritoriality clause of the Criminal Code violated provisions of the Spanish Constitution.
D000028:Abortion, Induced; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005060:Europe; D005193:Family Planning Services; D007603:Jurisprudence; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D011153:Population; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013030:Spain
Abortion Law; Abortion, Induced--legal aspects; Court Decision; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Europe; Family Planning; Fertility Control, Postconception; Mediterranean Countries; Migration; Population; Population Dynamics; Southern Europe; Spain; Temporary Migration