64% Of Portuguese Voters Favor Lifting Abortion Ban, But High Abstention Rate Might Invalidate Referendum, Poll Says

About 64% of Portuguese voters said they favor lifting the country's ban on abortion, according to a poll released Thursday by Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha and the pollster Aximage, Reuters reports (Reuters, 1/4). Abortion is illegal in Portugal except when necessary to protect the life or health of a woman or if a woman becomes pregnant as a result of rape. The Portuguese Parliament in October 2006 approved a government proposal to hold a national referendum aimed at decriminalizing abortion in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The Portuguese Constitutional Court the following month ruled 7-6 in favor of allowing the referendum, and Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva then approved the referendum, scheduled for Feb. 11. The referendum will ask voters: "Do you agree with the decriminalization of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, in the first 10 weeks, in a legally authorized health establishment?" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/17/06). The poll also found that 27.3% of the 502 people surveyed said they would vote to uphold the current law. According to the poll, 56.8% of voters are expected to cast a vote on the referendum. Half of the electorate must vote for a referendum to be valid, according to Portuguese law. "It isn't yet clear, but there is a risk of the 'yes' camp winning but voter turnout being less than 50%," pollster Jorge de Sa said (Reuters, 1/4). Officials say that about 10,000 women annually in Portugal are treated at hospitals for complications caused by illegal abortions (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/17/06).

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