A Spanish law mandating the creation of a registers of doctors who, for reasons of conscience, prefer not to perform abortions is meeting resistance from the regional Governments tasked with implementing it.

The Central Government say the lists are not made public, but they will enable medical personnel to be redistributed so that access to abortion is made available everywhere.

However, the president of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has refused to compile what she calls a ‘blacklist’.

Manuel Martínez-Sellés, president of the Madrid College of Physicians, said: ‘This is difficult to see as anything other than an attempt to restrict freedom of conscience [and] to discriminate against doctors who refuse to take part in acts they consider morally wrong.’

It has been suggested that it would make more sense to publish a list of doctors who do perform the procedure.