Asturias creates the registry of healthcare professionals who object to abortion

The Principality of Asturias will have, as of this Tuesday, a regional registry of healthcare professionals who are conscientious objectors to the voluntary termination of pregnancy. This is established by Decree 66/2026, of September 28, approved by the Governing Council at the proposal of the Department of Health and published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) no. 202, of October 19, 2026 (Code 2026-08486). The regulation comes into force the day following its publication, that is, October 20.

The decree develops article 19 ter of Organic Law 2/2010, of March 3, on sexual and reproductive health and the voluntary termination of pregnancy, as amended by Organic Law 1/2023, of February 28. This state regulation requires each autonomous community to create a registry of objectors for organizational purposes, so that the individual exercise of the right does not compromise access to or the quality of the service. The text is also based on the consensus protocol agreed upon in the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System during its session on December 13, 2024.

Until now, the community was governed by the transitional instructions approved by the Resolution of October 6, 2025, from the Department of Health, published in the BOPA of October 8, 2025. The new decree expressly repeals that resolution and extinguishes the previous system, which is replaced by the registry now created.

Affiliation to SESPA and scope of application

The registry is regional in nature and is affiliated with the Management Directorate of the Health Service of the Principality of Asturias (SESPA), which assumes the role of data controller. It will only have effects within Asturian territory: registration in equivalent registries of other communities or the National Institute of Health Management will not be valid in Asturias, meaning that anyone moving to practice here must register again.

Those who intervene directly in the practice of abortion, both in the SESPA and in private centers, may declare their objection. The decree establishes the minimum profiles included:

• Medical personnel specializing in gynecology and obstetrics.
• Personnel specializing in anesthesiology and resuscitation.
• Family and community medicine or general medicine, when intervening directly.
• Nursing professionals.
• Midwives.

Profiles that do not participate directly in the intervention, as defined by the regulation—necessary, direct, and simultaneous professional acts without which the service would not be possible—are excluded.

Electronic registration and modalities of objection

The procedure is initiated at the request of the interested person, through the electronic office of the Administration of the Principality of Asturias, and must be formalized prior to any eventual participation in the provision of the service. The registry will automatically issue a certification containing the date and time of submission, the entry number, and the seal of the dependent body. The declaration, its modification, and its revocation take effect from the following business day after submission.

The declaration must indicate the modality being objected to, among the cases set forth in Organic Law 2/2010:

• Article 14: interruption within the first fourteen weeks at the request of the woman.
• Article 15.a): up to twenty-two weeks due to serious risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman.
• Article 15.b): up to twenty-two weeks due to risk of serious fetal anomalies.
• Article 15.c): fetal anomalies incompatible with life or extremely serious and incurable disease confirmed by a clinical committee.

Reserved registry and specified data

The registry is not public. The data collected are the first and last names, the DNI, NIE or passport, professional email, the code and designation of the activity in the State Registry of Health Professionals, the category according to Royal Decree 184/2015, the workplace with its REGCESS code, and the objected modality. Under no circumstances shall the reason for the objection be included.

The data are considered special categories according to Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and may only be consulted by the directors or managements of the centers accredited to perform abortions and those who plan human resources, under a commitment of confidentiality. The holders may exercise the rights under Articles 13 to 22 of the European regulation, except for the right to object.

Ex officio incorporation of previous declarations

The sole transitional provision provides that declarations registered under the Resolution of October 6, 2025, shall be incorporated ex officio into the new registry, maintaining their validity and effectiveness without the need for a new application. The responsible body will notify the incorporation and issue a certificate stating the date of the initial declaration.

The decree bears the signature of the President of the Principality of Asturias, Adrián Barbón Rodríguez, and the Minister of Health, María Concepción Saavedra Rielo, and was reported by the Consultative Council of the Principality of Asturias.

The implementation of the registry directly affects the planning of a service included in the common portfolio of the healthcare system: from now on, the SESPA will have an updated and confidential census of conscientious objectors by center and modality, which will allow for the organization of on-call shifts and referrals so that individual objection does not end up limiting the access of Asturian patients to the voluntary interruption of pregnancy.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias, no. 202 of October 19, 2026, section I (General Provisions), pp. 1-5 (official reference: Code 2026-08486).