The Spanish government has won a parliamentary vote against a Socialist motion that would have forced it to withdraw a bill aimed at narrowing the circumstances under which abortion is available. Spain has had abortion on demand up to 14 weeks since 2010.

Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon’s bill, which bans abortion except in the case of rape, or when women can prove that having the child would pose “a severe risk to her physical or mental health”, was challenged by the opposition Socialist Party, which tabled a motion for the bill to be withdrawn immediately.

The Socialist motion allowed a secret ballot, giving government MPs from the ruling People’s Party freedom to vote with their consciences, but the motion was still defeated by 183 votes to 151, allowing the government’s bill to proceed.

The bill has faced strong opposition from pro-choice groups, with large crowds demonstrating on the streets of Madrid, and protesters shouting slogans like “MPs and rosaries, out of my ovaries”.

The bill will now be subject to further amendments, but according to the Guardian, Minister Ruiz-Gallardon is committed to pushing ahead with the reform. “You have my word that no screams or insults could provoke me to abandon my commitment to comply with the [party] platform to regulate the rights of women and the unborn,” he People’s Party convention earlier this month. “We are not talking about moral issues or electoral advantages, but instead the defense of fundamental rights.”