Portugal to legalise abortion

Abortion will be legalised in Portugal, the prime minister Jose Socrates has said.

The pledge follows a public referendum where 59.3 per cent voted to change the current laws.

However, as turnout was only around 40 per cent and below the 50 per cent necessary to change the law, the change will be debated before being passed through parliament.

"Our interest is to fight clandestine abortion and we have to produce a law that respects the result of the referendum," Mr Socrates said.

Portugal currently has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, alongside Ireland, Malta and Poland. Abortion is banned except in cases of rape, foetal abnormality or where the mother's health is at serious risk.

Many Portuguese women travel to Spain for a termination or resort to illegal 'back alley' operations, placing them at risk of infection, complications and even death.

Partido Popular has campaigned against abortion and its leader Jose Ribeiro has spoken out against Socrates' planned reform.

He claimed that the issue was a political move that had split Portuguese society, while claiming that low voter turnout showed it was not a critical issue for most people.

A previous referendum held in 1998 voted 51 per cent against a law change, but was disallowed because turnout was only 30 per cent.