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HagiaSophia
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"Portugal’s Socialist-led parliament has approved a referendum on abortion for July 8. In the February election, the Socialist party ran on a platform that included a promise to conduct a national referendum to overturn the country’s official prohibition on abortion. Socialists hold 121 of the 230 seats in parliament.
In May, Portugal’s president said an abortion referendum would be delayed until 2006, fearing that a summer referendum would not yield the minimum 50 percent voter turnout necessary for the result to be binding.
The proposal seeks to make abortion on demand legal up to the 10th week of pregnancy. The question reads: “Do you agree that abortions, carried out in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, with the woman’s consent, in a legal medical establishment, should no longer be illegal?”
In the last abortion referendum, in June 1998, Portuguese voters rejected a bid to introduce abortion on demand in the largely Roman Catholic country. Only 31 percent of registered voters took part in the referendum; but of those, 51 percent voted against a change in the law. Despite the results of the referendum, the ruling Socialist Party plans to go ahead. Portuguese law stipulates that a referendum is binding only when at least 50 percent of registered voters take part…"
cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=38172
In May, Portugal’s president said an abortion referendum would be delayed until 2006, fearing that a summer referendum would not yield the minimum 50 percent voter turnout necessary for the result to be binding.
The proposal seeks to make abortion on demand legal up to the 10th week of pregnancy. The question reads: “Do you agree that abortions, carried out in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, with the woman’s consent, in a legal medical establishment, should no longer be illegal?”
In the last abortion referendum, in June 1998, Portuguese voters rejected a bid to introduce abortion on demand in the largely Roman Catholic country. Only 31 percent of registered voters took part in the referendum; but of those, 51 percent voted against a change in the law. Despite the results of the referendum, the ruling Socialist Party plans to go ahead. Portuguese law stipulates that a referendum is binding only when at least 50 percent of registered voters take part…"
cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=38172