Abortion will be legalized in Portugal, Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said. The proposal at hand allows all women pregnant for less than 10 weeks to have abortions. Right now in Portugal, abortion is only allowed in cases of rape, health threats, and in instances of severe deformity. Although the turnout for the referendum was exceptionally low at 40%, and because of this the proposal is not legally binding. However, out of the 40% who did vote, the majority was in favor of the proposal. Currently many Portuguese women go to Spain to have abortions, a nation in which there are much more liberal abortion laws.
One interesting thing to follow in this debate will be morality (Religion?) vs. legality. Nearly 90% of Portugal is Catholic, and in Catholicism, abortion is frowned upon. The Catholic Church is telling Catholics of Portugal to oppose abortion. I don't favor either side of this argument, but the debates and questions, especially moral, that it creates are very interesting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6350651.stm
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