Portugal's Parliament Votes To Hold Referendum On Decriminalizing Abortion During First 10 Weeks of Pregnancy

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 23 Apr 2005 - 11:00 PDT

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The Portuguese Parliament on Tuesday approved legislation authorizing a national referendum on whether to decriminalize abortion during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in the country, which has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe,... AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 4/20). Abortion in Portugal is illegal except in cases of rape or when a pregnant woman's life is in danger (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 11/4/04). In the referendum, Portuguese voters will be asked, "Do you agree that abortions carried out in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy with the woman's consent in a legal medical establishment should no longer be illegal?" (BBC News, 4/21). The bill now goes to President Jorge Sampaio, who will set a date for the vote, which likely will not take place before this summer (AAP/National Nine News, 4/21). Sampaio previously has said he would like the referendum to be held at a time that would favor high voter turnout, which observers interpret to mean that the vote likely will not be held until after the summer. A similar referendum was held in June 1998, when many Portuguese voters were on vacation, and the measure was rejected "by a whisker," according to AFP/Yahoo! News.

Public Opinion
Recent opinion polls show that a "strong majority" of people in Portugal, which is "staunchly" Roman Catholic, support fewer restrictions on abortion in the country, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 4/20). According to a poll released in September 2004 by the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias and TSF radio, 76.9% of the 808 people surveyed said they support a new referendum on the country's abortion laws and 60% said they believe that abortion should be decriminalized (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 11/4/04). Recent trials against women who have terminated their pregnancies at illegal clinics have prompted many people in the country to support a change in Portugal's abortion laws, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. About 20,000 to 40,000 illegal abortions take place each year in Portugal, and "thousands" of other women travel abroad to obtain abortions, according to AFP/Yahoo! News (AFP/Yahoo! News, 4/20).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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