(abortion laws in Europe)Polls in Portugal show that majority of voters favour changing law on terminations despite protests by Catholic church.
From the BBC news:
"High above the Tagus River overlooking Lisbon's majestic suspension bridge stands a statue of Christ, arms outstretched, looking down on the country's traditionally reverential citizens.
The image is a powerful symbol of the close relationship between the Catholic Church and the Portuguese people, but as the current debate over whether to legalise abortion is demonstrating, that bond is showing signs of strain. Opinion polls are currently suggesting that a majority of people will vote on Sunday to allow a woman to have an abortion within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The change is being pushed by the socialist government and by liberal activists.Almirinda Bento, from the Umar women's rights group, says it is "unacceptable" that Portugal does not allow abortion. "The state has to have a law that allows women to solve a problem that is in essence an issue of public health. The state should not leave women in such a state of fragility," she says. Just because abortion is illegal here - except in cases of rape or where the woman or child's health is in danger - does not mean that thousands of women don't terminate their pregnancies each year. (…)
Though abortion is either banned or severely restricted in Ireland, Poland and Malta, only in Portugal can women like Carolina be sent to prison - for up to three years - for having an abortion. But regardless of the referendum result, abortion may be coming to Portugal anyway. Yolanda Hernandes who runs the Clinica dos Arcos in Badajoz says she has found a weakness in the existing Portuguese law that will allow her to open a clinic in Lisbon in March. "Those who do not want to have an abortion, do not have to. But those who do must have the best conditions possible. We must create the means," says Ms Hernandes."
The image is a powerful symbol of the close relationship between the Catholic Church and the Portuguese people, but as the current debate over whether to legalise abortion is demonstrating, that bond is showing signs of strain. Opinion polls are currently suggesting that a majority of people will vote on Sunday to allow a woman to have an abortion within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The change is being pushed by the socialist government and by liberal activists.Almirinda Bento, from the Umar women's rights group, says it is "unacceptable" that Portugal does not allow abortion. "The state has to have a law that allows women to solve a problem that is in essence an issue of public health. The state should not leave women in such a state of fragility," she says. Just because abortion is illegal here - except in cases of rape or where the woman or child's health is in danger - does not mean that thousands of women don't terminate their pregnancies each year. (…)
Though abortion is either banned or severely restricted in Ireland, Poland and Malta, only in Portugal can women like Carolina be sent to prison - for up to three years - for having an abortion. But regardless of the referendum result, abortion may be coming to Portugal anyway. Yolanda Hernandes who runs the Clinica dos Arcos in Badajoz says she has found a weakness in the existing Portuguese law that will allow her to open a clinic in Lisbon in March. "Those who do not want to have an abortion, do not have to. But those who do must have the best conditions possible. We must create the means," says Ms Hernandes."
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