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Wednesday July 13, 2005
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Portugal Acquits Two Women Accused of Procuring Illegal Abortion
LISBON, Portugal, July 13, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two Portuguese women have been acquitted of charges of procuring an illegal abortion after the prosecution admitted that they lacked the evidence to convict the women. If convicted they could have faced up to three years in prison.
The case against the mid-wife who allegedly performed the abortions for a fee of 400 euros has yet to be heard. If convicted the mid-wife could face up to eight years in prison.
BBC News report that applause from pro-abortion advocates followed the acquittal in the courtroom. Last year a similar case occurred which saw seven women acquitted, although the doctor who had allegedly performed the abortions was disciplined for his actions.
The conclusion of this particular case comes at a time when Portugal is gearing up for a possible national referendum on the abortion issue. The laws of the deeply Catholic country state that abortion is illegal except in the most extreme of cases, which includes rape and severe foetal disability, and then only up until 12 weeks gestation.
A similar referendum in 1998 saw Portuguese voters choose to keep abortion illegal with a margin of 51% to 49%. The current socialist government, however, promised another referendum during their campaign in February, and they are gearing up for that referendum coming in August.
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