Criminal lawyer Paula Fraga is one of the most outspoken—and also most provocative—voices in Spain’s legal and political scene and known for her critical stance against the trans lobby and Spain’s recent amnesty law, which pardons Catalan separatists. europeanconservative.com spoke with her about the dangers of new criminal legislation targeting parents and professionals, the politicisation of the Constitutional Court, and the growing threat to the rule of law in Spain and Europe.
Spain recently changed its criminal code to allow prison sentences for parents and professionals who don’t follow what’s called “affirmative therapy” for gender-questioning children. What does that mean in practice?
It’s exactly as stated. The new Article 173 bis of the Penal Code seeks to punish parents and professionals who refuse to apply what is called affirmative therapy. This means that if a minor claims to feel like the opposite sex, their subjective perception must be automatically accepted without any kind of prior psychological assessment. Any attempt at evaluation or delay without psychological support can be considered “conversion therapy” and therefore punishable.
Paula Fraga
Can this really be enforced?
Absolutely. The goal is not to imprison dozens of parents or doctors—such cases would provoke an immediate social backlash—but to spread fear. Psychologists have already contacted me saying they’ve stopped treating cases of dysphoria for fear of fines up to €150,000, even before imprisonment was an option. One psychologist, Carola López Moya, was already subjected to administrative proceedings just for criticizing these laws, without even having dysphoric patients. That’s how state intimidation works.
What are the consequences for children?
They are effectively institutionalizing child abuse. If a boy doesn’t fit gender stereotypes—prefers to play with girls—or a girl doesn’t identify with pink, they are automatically referred to trans activist groups that are not medical but political. It’s reactionary, not progressive: they are reviving the most outdated stereotypes to define what it means to be a man or a woman.
And what is the effect of this on women’s rights?
Devastating. Everything feminism achieved in law has been undermined. Self-identification as a woman, based solely on one’s word, has allowed men to enter women’s prisons and avoid charges under gender violence laws. The law is no longer equal for all.
What role does Europe play in all of this?
A central one. This is not a Spanish invention. Brussels has actively promoted these policies. 80% of the laws passed in national parliaments stem from EU directives or demands. Transgender theories came from the U.S. and Canada and were then exported to Brussels and, from there, to national parliaments. In Spain, we’ve had regional trans laws for over a decade, which have imposed truly totalitarian rules on schools. In Catalonia, for example, the number of supposedly trans minors increased by 7,600% in ten years. In Galicia, it was 1,000% in eight years. These are wildly disproportionate figures pointing to ideological engineering rather than medical reality.
Spain’s Constitutional Court recently supported the amnesty law for Catalan separatists involved in the illegal 2017 independence attempt. What does this mean for our legal system?
It’s an assault on the rule of law. The Constitutional Court has become a political body, not a legal one. The fact that everyone already knows how each judge will vote based on their party alignment is outrageous. The amnesty law forgives politicians who broke the law—some even tried to break up the country—just to keep the current government in power. It’s a direct attack on equality before the law and on territorial integrity.
What can we now expect from the Constitutional Court itself?
Nothing. There are already legal challenges to the trans law, but they will delay them for years. Public trust in the Court is broken. Not even progressive female magistrates who oppose the trans law—because it clearly violates Article 14 of the Constitution—have the strength to stop the machine.
Some say Spain’s political system is already dead. Do you agree?
What’s dead is the rule of law, more than the system itself. The problem also lies within that system: the way judges are appointed, the way elections overrepresent nationalist parties, and even flaws in the Constitution itself.. All of this made this decline possible. But what has just collapsed is the last barrier: judicial independence.
Could European courts offer a solution?
I’m not optimistic. There are already questions being raised in the European courts about the amnesty law, and we’ll see what happens, but Europe often causes more problems than it solves. I’m not calling for an EU exit, but we must adopt a much more critical stance. We cannot delegate our sovereignty to Brussels. The solution begins with identifying the problems and awakening a cultural and political movement to defend the nation from within. Because if we don’t do it ourselves, no one else will do it for us.
Javier Villamor is a Spanish journalist and analyst. Based in Brussels, he covers NATO and EU affairs at europeanconservative.com. Javier has over 17 years of experience in international politics, defense, and security. He also works as a consultant providing strategic insights into global affairs and geopolitical dynamics.
