Wednesday July 13, 2005


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.
jj
SHARE THIS STORY:
E-mail
Print
Newsvine
Digg
Reddit
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Australian Health Minister Fires Men’s Health Ambassador for Documenting Risks of Homosexuality

- IKEA’s Polish Catalogue Introduces “Ian and Steve” as a Model of the New Family

- Abortion Increases Women's Mental Health Problems: New Study

- Conservative Attorney General Seeks to Quash Morgentaler Order of Canada Challenge

- Purchase of Christmas Music CD By Pro-Life Priest is Great Way to Support LifeSiteNews

- EU Rejects Patent that “Necessarily Involves the Use and Destruction of Human Embryos”

- South Korean Court Orders Removal of Life Support from Comatose Woman

- The Power of a Bold Bishop

- God is Pro-Choice Says Nun

- Danish Study Shows almost 50% More Down's Children Eugenically Aborted with New Screening Options

- Letters to the Editor for Monday, December 1, 2008

- LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes

Most Read this Week
- Behind the Scenes of Volition: Coincidences and Startling Circumstances
- Ad Showing Woman Seducing Santa Promotes Free Morning-After Pills and Condoms for Christmas
- Belgian Couple Sells Baby on EBay
- Leading Canadian Pro-Life MP Relates Shocking 20 Year Lack of Support From Catholic Clergy
- Naming the Anti-Life Appointments in the Obama Administration
- Cardinal on Biblical Condemnation of Homosexuality: We're Not Allowed the Cowardice of "Politically Correct" Silence
- A Painful, Disease-Ridden Death Isn’t So Bad if You’re Just a White, Heterosexual Male
- Film Review: Volition
- Just In Time for Christmas - Gift Cards for Abortions from Planned Parenthood
- Abortion Now Number One Cause of Death in Spain
MORE NEWS:
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page
Last 10 Days
Archives
Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.


Back to Top