Portugal to vote in abortion referendum

Portugal will decide today in a national referendum whether to discard its strict abortion law and adopt a more liberal policy that would bring the country into line with most other European nations.

The centre-left Socialist government wants to grant women the right to opt for abortion during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Portugal, where more than 90% of people say they are Catholic, has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the European Union. Its legislation places it in a minority in the bloc with Poland, Ireland and Malta.

The procedure is allowed only in cases of rape, foetal malformation or if a mother’s health is in danger, and only in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

In 23 other EU nations, abortion is permitted within much broader limits. Women can ask for abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy in Britain and up to the 12th week in Germany, France and Italy.

The government has portrayed the ballot as a measure of Portugal’s willingness to adopt more modern attitudes.

But its effort to change the law has run into opposition from the influential Roman Catholic Church, which wants to keep the restrictions in place.

The single question on the ballot asks voters if they want to allow abortion up to the 10th week. Voters at more than 12,000 polling stations are to tick a box under Yes or No.

Recent opinion polls have indicated that a majority of Portugal’s 8.9 million registered voters intend to approve the change.

But a doubt remains over whether enough ballots will be cast to make the outcome binding.

In a 1998 referendum on the same question, voters balked at making a choice and the ballot was declared void after fewer than the mandatory 50%-plus-one of registered voters turned out.

Anticipating a repeat of that result, prime minister Jose Socrates has said that if the turnout is too low to make the ballot binding but the Yes camp collects most of the votes cast, he will use his party’s majority in parliament to push through legislation allowing abortion.

Socrates, a long-time campaigner for abortion rights, has called the current law “backward” and “a national disgrace”.

He says women seeking to terminate their pregnancies simply travel to EU countries where it is legal, especially private clinics across the border in Spain, or resort to shady, back-street clinics at home.

Even if voters back the change, it could be several months before women can choose to terminate their pregnancies.

A bill would have to be voted on in Parliament and then go to the president for approval. It would come into force only when the new legislation was published in the public records – a procedure which usually takes months.