Criminal defence throughout Spain · offices in Madrid and Alicante
The Criminal Code protects prenatal life against third parties: abortion caused without the woman’s consent, abortion caused by gross negligence (the obstetric malpractice that ends a pregnancy) and injuries to the foetus leaving sequelae in the child who is born. Lawful termination within Organic Law 2/2010 lies, obviously, outside any criminal reproach.
In brief. These are cases of very high medical expert load and emotional weight, which we handle both for families who claim and in the defence of professionals. They are decided in the clinical record (cardiotocographic traces, time entries, nursing sheets) and in the obstetric and neuropaediatric expert evidence. The pregnant woman herself is never punishable for her own negligent abortion.
The Criminal Code protects prenatal life against third parties: the abortion caused without the woman’s consent (Article 144), the abortion caused by gross negligence, which is the obstetric malpractice that ends a pregnancy (Article 146), and the injuries to the foetus that leave sequelae in the child who is born (Articles 157 and 158). Voluntary termination within the framework of Organic Law 2/2010 lies outside any criminal reproach, and since the 2023 reform the woman herself is not punishable in the Article 145 situations: the reproach is directed at third parties and professionals.
These proceedings are decided in the clinical record and in the expert evidence: cardiotocographic registers, hourly entries, nursing sheets, the chain of custody of the record, its eventual alterations and the real times of action are the battlefield. We litigate it with our own experts in both directions: for the families who claim and for the professionals who defend themselves.
| Conduct | Article | Penalty framework | Key factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abortion without consent | 144 | 4 – 8 years + disqualification 3 – 10 | Violence, threat or deceit equated |
| Consented outside the law (third party) | 145 | 1 – 3 years + disqualification | The woman is not punishable since 2023 |
| Formal breaches | 145 bis | Attenuated penalties | Information, periods, accreditation |
| Negligent abortion | 146 | 3 – 5 months or fine | Professional: disqualification 1 – 3 years |
| Injuries to the foetus | 157 | 1 – 4 years + disqualification 2 – 8 | Grave impairment of development |
| Negligent foetal injuries | 158 | 3 – 5 months or fine | The malpractice vehicle with 146 |
| The pregnant woman | 146 and 158 in fine | Never punishable for negligence | The law excludes her expressly |
| Civil liability | 109 ss. | Compensation within or alongside | Criminal-civil coordination from the start |
Penalty ranges are indicative and set out the ordinary framework; the sentence actually imposed depends on the circumstances of each case.
For families, the birth is reconstructed minute by minute with the complete clinical record: traces, times of decision, calls and staffing. For professionals, the defence is built on the lex artis: the centre’s protocols, the means available, collegiate decisions and alternative causal courses such as prior pathologies and unavoidable causes. Minor negligence is not a crime: that frontier, litigated with solid expert evidence, acquits.
The criminal and civil planes are coordinated from the first day, because the compensation does not wait for the conviction: the health-liability claim against the service or its insurer advances in parallel, and what is proven in one forum serves the other.
Parents who lost a pregnancy or whose child was born with sequelae: minute-by-minute reconstruction and full recovery.
Obstetricians, midwives and residents under investigation: lex artis, protocols and alternative causal courses.
Centres and insurers in high-stakes obstetric claims: independent expertise and coordinated defence.
Victims of violence causing the loss of pregnancy: Article 144 and full protection and reparation.
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Société de Conseil Juridique et Expert es un despacho de abogados con sedes en Madrid, Alicante, Londres y París, especializado en defensa y acusación penal, delitos económicos y corporativos y derecho tecnológico. Trabajamos con orientación estratégica en procedimientos penales complejos, propiedad intelectual y análisis forense avanzado, y prestamos consultoría jurídica, compliance y escudos de protección a particulares y empresas. Atendemos desde Alicante y Madrid, con consulta online en toda España y asistencia al detenido 24 horas. Resuelva sus dudas en las preguntas frecuentes o solicite una primera consulta.
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