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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Portugal will legalise abortion | Portugal will legalise abortion |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said abortion will be legalised in Portugal despite the turnout for a referendum being too low to be legally binding. | Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said abortion will be legalised in Portugal despite the turnout for a referendum being too low to be legally binding. |
| Turnout was about 40%, far less that the 50% required, but of those who did vote, 57-61% backed a proposed change to the current law, exit polls suggest. | Turnout was about 40%, far less that the 50% required, but of those who did vote, 57-61% backed a proposed change to the current law, exit polls suggest. |
| The proposal allows all women abortion until the 10th week of pregnancy. | The proposal allows all women abortion until the 10th week of pregnancy. |
| Currently abortions are only allowed in cases of rape, a health threat to the mother or serious foetal abnormality. | Currently abortions are only allowed in cases of rape, a health threat to the mother or serious foetal abnormality. |
| The people spoke with a clear voice Prime Minister Jose Socrates href="/1/hi/world/europe/6352763.stm">Path to legal abortion class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/6235557.stm">Europe's abortion rules | |
| "The law will now be discussed and approved in parliament," Mr Socrates said. "Our interest is to fight clandestine abortion and we have to produce a law that respects the result of the referendum." | "The law will now be discussed and approved in parliament," Mr Socrates said. "Our interest is to fight clandestine abortion and we have to produce a law that respects the result of the referendum." |
| "The people spoke with a clear voice," he added. | "The people spoke with a clear voice," he added. |
| Portugal has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the European Union. Only Ireland, Malta and Poland have such similarly strict legislation. | Portugal has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the European Union. Only Ireland, Malta and Poland have such similarly strict legislation. |
| The mainly Catholic country currently allows abortions up the 12th week to save a woman's life or to preserve her mental or physical health. | The mainly Catholic country currently allows abortions up the 12th week to save a woman's life or to preserve her mental or physical health. |
| In cases of rape, abortions are allowed within 16 weeks. The limit is 24 weeks if there is a risk that the child will be born with an incurable disease or deformity. | In cases of rape, abortions are allowed within 16 weeks. The limit is 24 weeks if there is a risk that the child will be born with an incurable disease or deformity. |
| 'National shame' | 'National shame' |
| As a result many Portuguese women go to Spain for terminations or resort to illegal abortions. | As a result many Portuguese women go to Spain for terminations or resort to illegal abortions. |
| Some women have abortions done in unsanitary conditions and risk ending up with infections or other serious complications from which they may die. | Some women have abortions done in unsanitary conditions and risk ending up with infections or other serious complications from which they may die. |
| Mr Socrates had called for voters to back the changes to put an end to the "national shame" of back-street abortions. | Mr Socrates had called for voters to back the changes to put an end to the "national shame" of back-street abortions. |
| "The choice placed before Portugal is whether it resigns itself to staying in the group of the most conservative countries or if it embraces modernity and joins the most developed nations," he said on Thursday. | "The choice placed before Portugal is whether it resigns itself to staying in the group of the most conservative countries or if it embraces modernity and joins the most developed nations," he said on Thursday. |
| In a referendum held in 1998, voters upheld the existing abortion law by 51% to 49%, but the result was declared void as nearly seven out of 10 voters stayed away. | In a referendum held in 1998, voters upheld the existing abortion law by 51% to 49%, but the result was declared void as nearly seven out of 10 voters stayed away. |
| The Socialists made holding another referendum part of their election platform in 2005. | The Socialists made holding another referendum part of their election platform in 2005. |
| Jail threat | Jail threat |
| Voters were being asked to decide whether to make abortion legal in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, if carried out at the woman's request in a registered clinic. | Voters were being asked to decide whether to make abortion legal in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, if carried out at the woman's request in a registered clinic. |
| But since the wording says nothing about the woman having to justify her decision, those against the reform say it is abortion on demand. | But since the wording says nothing about the woman having to justify her decision, those against the reform say it is abortion on demand. |
| The idea of sending someone to prison for having an illegal abortion is universally unpopular - the offence carries a jail sentence of up to three years. | The idea of sending someone to prison for having an illegal abortion is universally unpopular - the offence carries a jail sentence of up to three years. |
| But many people in the staunchly Catholic country want the crime on the statute books to stop abortion becoming routine. | But many people in the staunchly Catholic country want the crime on the statute books to stop abortion becoming routine. |
| The Catholic Church has gone further, saying that Catholics, who account for 90% of Portugal's population, must oppose abortion. | The Catholic Church has gone further, saying that Catholics, who account for 90% of Portugal's population, must oppose abortion. |
| "Whatever the motives that justify this dramatic act in the eyes of a woman, it is always the denial of a place in the world for a human life that was conceived," Cardinal Jose da Cruz Policarpo, the Patriarch of Lisbon, has said. | "Whatever the motives that justify this dramatic act in the eyes of a woman, it is always the denial of a place in the world for a human life that was conceived," Cardinal Jose da Cruz Policarpo, the Patriarch of Lisbon, has said. |