Bilbao, Spain - Spanish Catholic bishops on Tuesday pursued their campaign against the planned liberalization of abortion, with Bilbao bishop Ricardo Blazquez slamming abortion as forming part of "a culture death" in "western civilization."

Abortion was comparable to terrorism, war, slavery or domestic violence, Blazquez, a former president of the Spanish Bishops' Conference, and his deputy said in a statement.

The Bishops' Conference meanwhile prepared to celebrate a "day for life" on Wednesday, issuing a note describing abortion as an "inherently bad act."

Real justice protected the life of the unborn, the family commission of the Bishops' Conference argued in the note.

Orihuela-Alicante bishop Rafael Palmero called on organizations staging religious processions at Easter to "pray for life" during the celebrations.

The Bishops' Conference has also announced a nationwide campaign featuring posters and leaflets against plans by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's socialist government to liberalize the 1985 abortion law.

The new law is expected to free women from having the justify their abortions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

More than 100,000 pregnancies are terminated annually in Spain, usually on grounds of danger to the mother's psychological health. (dpa)