LISBON, July 26, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Portugal’s new centre-right government is repealing a decision by former prime minister Jose Manuel Barroso, suggesting the country may not hold a country-wide referendum to ratify the new European Union constitution as the Barroso government decided.
Barroso stepped down from his post last month to take up residence in Brussels as European Union Commission head. Before his resignation, Portugal had been gearing up for a referendum on the measure set for 2005. A new program presented Friday by Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes spoke of the referendum option as only a possibility. The constitution must be ratified by all member nations in order for it to be adopted.
Portugal, a pro-life country, is weary of the European Union’s anti-God and pro-abortion leanings. Aside from the rejection of the recognition of the Christian roots of the continent, the European Court of Human Rights ruled earlier this month that a doctor responsible for the unintended death of a six-month-old unborn baby was innocent, because the 17-member court could not agree on whether “the unborn child was a person.” The 14-2 ruling stated, “It was neither desirable, nor even possible . . . to answer in the abstract the question whether the unborn child was a person.” Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage: European Court Rules it’s not Desirable or Possible to Determine if Unborn Child is a Person https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/jul/04070803.html European Union Draft Constitution Ignores Christian Roots https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/jul/03071105.html tv