Portuguese disappointment

Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Malta are geographically on the periphery of the European continent. On the other hand, from our perspective, these four countries have been at the vanguard in the defence of certain very positive and traditional values.

A common factor to all four of them is the Catholic religion. One of the natural consequences of this reality is a concomitant pro-life stand as this is tantamount to the Christian ethos. Unfortunately now it seems this will be a thing of the past in Portugal.

The result of the "abortion" referendum held in Portugal last Sunday can be looked at from two angles. On the one hand one can say that in a nation-wide referendum Portuguese voters gave their support to a proposal loosening restrictions on abortion. On the other hand one can say that the referendum which aimed to relax Portugal's abortion law is non-binding because only 43.6 per cent of registered voters went to the polls on Sunday, when the law requires a turnout of at least 50 per cent for the referendum to be valid.

Both aspects are correct but both are partial. It seems that in Portugal emotions on the subject are not so high as to mobilise the public to go out and vote. In 1998, a similar referendum on abortion also failed to produce a high enough voter turnout to be legally binding. On that occasion a bare majority (51-49 per cent) supported the existing law which currently allows abortion only in cases of rape, severe foetal deformation, or danger to the life of the mother.

But in eight years the pro-abortion lobby grew from 49 per cent to almost 60 per cent. That is not good news for the pro-life lobby, especially in a country which claims to be 94 per cent Catholic!

Although the number of voters participating in the referendum fell well short of the level required to make the decision binding, Prime Minister José Socrates said that his government would move forward with plans to allow legal abortion. The proposal placed before the Portuguese would allow legal abortion on demand in registered clinics up to the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Mr Socrates said legislation allowing abortion under the same conditions would now be brought before the nation's parliament. He indicated that he was confident the measure would be approved.

Archbishop Jorge Ortiga, president of the Portuguese bishops' conference, was correct to point out in statements published by the Ecclesia news agency that the issue of abortion should not be determined by a referendum, since evil cannot become good by majority vote.

The Portuguese result should be an eye-opener to all pro-lifers, even in Malta. All statistics show the massive anti-abortion sentiment in our country. But the 11 per cent shift in Portugal in eight years should warn us that we cannot take anything for granted.

The defence of life during its first nine months should be accompanied by a study of the reasons why people - decent, ordinary people - are opting for abortion in so many countries. These causes should be then attended to. Besides, the defence of life in its beginning should be accompanied by its defence at every other subsequent moment.