.- With the support of thousands of Portuguese citizens who signed petitions in support of the right to life of the unborn, the country’s legislature rejected proposals to decriminalize abortion in Portugal.
The Social Democrat Party and the Popular Party, supported by 150,000 signatures gathered in only one month by pro-life groups, mustered enough votes to reject four bills that would have decriminalized abortion.
After several weeks of grass-roots campaigning, public discussions, and hours of debate in Parliament, law makers decided to uphold current Portuguese laws which do allow abortion in cases of rape, grave risk to the physical or psychological health of the mother, and fetal deformation.
