Try as it may, Spain’s Socialist government cannot extinguish the faith of its people.

The Christian Post reported that an estimated 1 million people took to the streets of Madrid to protest Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s bill that would allow unrestricted abortion at up to 14 weeks of pregnancy and allow girls age 16 and 17 to abort their children without parental consent.

Under the banner “Every Life Counts,” protesters Oct. 17 called for the government to withdraw the bill from parliament.

Typically, as with the March for Life in Washington and other pro-life marches, the official number of the crowd was underestimated. Police said 250,000 participated in the protest, while Madrid’s regional government estimated the crowd to be about 1.2 million.

The protest, with the blessing of the Church, saw thousands carrying signs reading “For Life, Women and Motherhood,” “Women Against Abortion,” and “Madrid 2009, Capital of Life.”

World Youth Day will be held in Madrid in 2011.

Benigno Blanco, chairman of the Catholic coalition Family Forum, said, “We invite all 48 million Spaniards, regardless of the political party they belong to, whether they wear a cassock or practice their religion in a synagogue or a mosque.”

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