Seven women on trial in Portugal face up to eight years in jail if they are found guilty of having abortions. A doctor and a variety of "accomplices" — two medical staff, parents and partners of the women, and even a taxi driver who allegedly drove one of the women to the clinic — have also been charged.
Abortion is illegal in Portugal except in the case of rape, or where a woman's health would be placed in serious danger by continuing a pregnancy. Government figures indicate that some 11,000 women were treated in hospitals last year for botched illegal abortions. Five women died.
Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio granted a Christmas pardon to nurse Maria do Ceu Ribeiro who had been imprisoned since she was arrested in 2000 for performing abortions in her home. She was sentenced in 2003 to eight and a half years in prison but will now be released at the end of this month.
The latest trial has sparked a renewed drive by pro-choice activists for abortion law reform. A petition, with at least 100,000 signatures has been submitted to the Portuguese parliament, demanding a referendum that would call for the decriminalisation of abortion within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
In 1998, 32% of the electorate turned out for a similar referendum, but the reform proposal was rejected by 51% of voters. However, according to Agence France Presse, a recent poll indicated that nearly 75% of people in Portugal want a new referendum to be held, and more than 67% say they would vote to loosen the anti-abortion laws.
The battle over abortion rights is also intensifying in the US, 31 years after the Roe vs Wade ruling in the Supreme Court legalised a woman's right to choose to terminate a pregnancy.
On January 22, US senator Barbara Boxer announced a new bill to codify the Roe vs Wade ruling into federal law. The legislation would override current restrictions on abortion access and prevent discrimination against women on the basis of reproductive decisions.
In March, a number of federal judges will review the constitutionality of a bill banning abortion that was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President George Bush last year.
Similar legislation is being debated in a range of states. In Michigan, an abortion ban was passed through the state legislature but vetoed by the governor in October. Anti-abortion activists launched a petition campaign on January 22 in a bid to overturn the veto.
In Australia, abortion is still illegal in most states, though judicial rulings have meant the law is not usually enforced. For women living in rural areas and the poor, abortion services are particularly difficult to access.
The right to free, safe, legal abortion is not the only aspect of fertility control that women are still fighting for. On January 1, a new law came into effect in the Netherlands, ending the provision of free contraception to all women. Widespread sex education programs have also been abandoned.
In Brazil, Rio de Janeiro's municipal government has abandoned plans to distribute free condoms and birth control pills through the mail to the poor. This allegedly followed a meeting between the mayor and the Catholic archbishop. According to Associated Press, around 23,000 women and teenagers had already registered to receive the free contraceptives.
Governments, laws and religious leaders have no place in dictating decisions concerning women's fertility. The battle will not be over until all women have exclusive control over our own bodies. This includes access to free, safe, legal abortion on demand; access to safe contraception; access to information and education on sexual health; and freedom from violence. As the slogan goes, "Our bodies, our lives, our right to choose."
Kerryn Williams
From Green Left Weekly, February 11, 2004.
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