Following yesterday's national referendum, abortion was legalized in Portugal, a country in which an estimated 90% of citizens affiliate themselves with the Catholic Church. The referendum was a close call, yielding only 40% of the nation's vote; only a slim majority of voters (59.3%) voted “yes” in favour of abortion. Regardless of the low turnout for the referendum, which prevents the result from being legally binding, Prime Minister Jose Socrates, leader of the Socialist Party and a strong proponent of the pro-choice movement, declared that abortion will be legalised. Prime Minister Socrates' heavy-handedness in backing the proposal has come up against strong opposition and intensified animosity between the Church and state.
To date, abortions in Portugal have only been permitted in situations of rape, mental or physical health threats to a mother, or severe foetal abnormality. Seeking illegal abortions can even result in a jail sentence of up to three years. Under new laws, however, women will be permitted to have an abortion until the 10th week of pregnancy. The immediate benefits of abortion provision cannot be overlooked. It is estimated that over 40,000 Portuguese women resort to clandestine abortion every year. Women travel to other EU countries or board Dutch floating clinics to terminate their pregnancies. Socrates, who was heavily influenced by data compiled by pro-choice groups, claims that 10,000 Portuguese women are hospitalized as a result of illegal or botched abortions, which are frequently carried out in unsanitary conditions by unprofessional aids.
Socrates' reasserted his optimism for the nation's progress towards modernization yesterday, adamant that “the people spoke with a clear voice.” Yet, opposition to his pro-choice platform from Partido Popular and the Catholic Church remains strong. Leader of Partido Popular, Jose Ribeiro e Castro, has even gone so far as to say that Portuguese society has been irreparably divided, “Socrates will be responsible for this sad chapter in Portugal's history, for insisting on a political move that has split Portuguese society.” The close results from the election attest to the divisive nature of the referendum. Moreover, the Church has been outspoken in its dissatisfaction; Braganca Bishop Antonio Moreira Montes compared abortion to the hanging of Saddam Hussein: “Everyone was horrified by Saddam's execution. Abortion is a variation of capital punishment.” Other Bishops insist those citizens who voted “yes” in the referendum face excommunication from the Church, a claim that would effectively excommunicate over 20% of Portugal's population.
Unsurprisingly, tensions between the Church and government have heightened dramatically in the last few years; abortion has been a primary source of contention and motivation for both grassroots activists and seasoned politicians. Yesterday's developments thereby mark a significant turning point in public opinion, which, as late as 1998 during the last abortion referendum, favoured the Church's pro-life guiding principles.
On the brink of Portugal's ascendancy to the rotating EU presidency, Socrates' push for modernizing reforms may be considered an attempt to unite Portugal with the rest of Europe. However, the authoritarian regime of Salazar, which ended in 1974, isolated Portugal from the rest of Europe and reinforced its people's strong conservative values, values that cannot be eradicated in a single referendum. The referendum raises pressing concerns. What is to be the future of Church-state relations in Portugal? Are there more liberal reforms to come? Portugal's movement towards “modernization” will inevitably require the state to make significant concessions, those of domestic unity and relations with the Catholic Church. The question is can the current government afford to make such concessions and sever such deep-rooted ties on its path towards modernity?
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