On February 11, Portuguese voters will cast their ballots on a referendum to legalize abortion-on-demand during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.  Portugal requires that 50 percent of registered voters cast ballots in order for a referendum to be valid.

However, Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates says that if the required number of voters do not show up, and a majority of those voting support liberalizing the abortion law, he will ignore the fact that the referendum is invalid and use his parliamentary majority to overturn current abortion restrictions.  Thus, if only 30 percent of registered voters turn out to cast their ballots – instead of the required 50 percent – and a majority of that 30 percent favor legalizing abortion, Socrates will use parliament to make abortion a “right.”

A 1998 referendum on the same issue was ruled invalid after insufficient voter turnout. Back then, 51% of the voters who turned out supported current restrictions on abortion.

Portugal currently outlaws abortion except in cases of rape, when a mother has up to 16 weeks to abort; or when there are serious health concerns to the mother and child, in which case abortions are permitted up to 12 weeks.  If there is a possibility that the child will be born with an incurable disease or deformity, abortions are permitted up to 24 weeks.

On February 7, Congressmen Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) and Luis Fortuno (R-Puerto Rico), along with 60 other members of Congress, issued a statement of support for Portugal’s mothers and unborn children in light of the national referendum.

“From a nation that has seen over three decades of abortion-on-demand, resulting in nearly 49 million abortions, we know full well the pain and destruction abortion inflicts upon an unborn baby, a woman, and society,” reads the statement.

“We urge the Portuguese to learn from the experiences of our country, and spare their women and children from the violence of abortion. … We believe the people of Portugal need and deserve real solutions that address the complex problems of today’s society, not liberalized abortion law.”

Poland, Ireland and Malta are the only other countries in Europe where abortion is illegal. The European Union and its individual member states have long pressured these and Third World countries to legalize abortion-on-demand, threatening the latter countries with suspension of aid if they do not comply.

There is evidence that a majority of Portuguese voters would not support the new abortion measure.  A January 26 poll published in Portugal’s Jornal de Noticias showed that only 38% of likely voters favoring the new proposal, a number significantly lower than the 53% figure published in an October poll.