Portugal parliament approves abortion referendum
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Portugal’s parliament on Thursday approved a motion for a referendum to legalise abortion, starting what could be a bitter campaign in this deeply Catholic country.
In a foretaste of the campaign to come, the head of the ruling Socialists in parliament called the present law making it a criminal offence to have an abortion an abhorrent.
“Our current laws leave us isolated in Europe and give the idea of the Portuguese state as retrograde and inhuman,” lawmaker Alberto Martins said in a speech to the packed chamber.
The Socialists, who had promised a referendum on abortion in February’s general election campaign, want to decriminalise having an abortion in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Women who have an abortion during that time can now go to prison.
Portugal is among a few countries in Europe that still ban abortion. It is currently allowed only if the mother’s health is in danger, if the foetus is deformed or in the case of rape.
Martins said everybody was entitled to their own view on the issue, but “that person or that church,” cannot decide to condemn to prison a woman who decides to have an abortion in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
The Socialists, the Social Democrats and a grouping of left-wing parties in parliament voted for the referendum, which could be held early next year. Together those parties hold a majority in parliament.
For the referendum to go ahead, it still needs to be approved by President Anibal Cavaco Silva, a conservative.
The right-wing Christian Democrats said they would campaign against the legalisation of abortion.
“Once again, the Christian Democrats will be the only party that will campaign against (it), defending the fundamental right to life,” lawmaker Pedro Mota Soares told parliament.
A 1998 referendum on the issue was narrowly defeated. But the Socialists believe it was unrepresentative as turnout was small.
Prime Minister Jose Socrates told a conference this week he will campaign to allow abortion because current laws have created what he said was one of “Portugal’s most shameful wounds - clandestine abortions.”
The Family Planning Association has estimated there are 20,000 to 40,000 illegal abortions a year in Portugal.
If the referendum goes ahead, the Socialists want to ask the Portuguese: “Do you agree with the decriminalisation of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, in the first 10 weeks, in a legally authorised health establishment?”
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