What signal for life?

A referendum is due to be held in Portugal on 11 February, calling for a liberalization of abortion up to the tenth week of pregnancy (the law now in force only permits abortion if there is danger for the life or health of the mother; if the child will be affected by grave and incurable disease; or if the pregnancy is the result of violence). A similar proposal was rejected by a small majority, against all predictions, with a referendum in 1998. Not only the hierarchy of the Church, but also Catholics in their role as citizens, have come out strongly against the proposal, with arguments that have nothing of the confessional about them and are based on the shared principles of respect for the right to life as the first of man’s inalienable rights. The referendum will also send out an important signal to other countries of Europe. The “yes” vote proponents criticise the “penalization” of the woman who aborts and declare that they want to put an end to the scourge of clandestine abortion. The “no” vote supporters argue that the proposal is not just one of “de-penalization” (also because no woman for years has been imprisoned for abortion), but also aims to turn abortion into an unconditional right, and that the State, on the contrary, should help women not to have an abortion but to find alternatives to it. Most politicians (almost all the Socialist Party now in government, all of the left-wing opposition and several of those of the centre-right opposition) have expressed their support for the “yes” camp. On the other hand, the popular mobilization is a good deal stronger on the side of the “no” camp. The law provides for the constitution of civic groups with a minimum number of 5000 persons for participation in the electoral campaign. The groups that support the “no” vote, which have sprang up in the space of a few weeks and are scattered all over the territory, are thrice the number of those supporting the “yes” vote. Each camp has created its own website and is organizing public debates and awareness-raising campaigns. An editorial of the Ecclesia press agency (www.ecclesia.pt) declared, a few days ago, that so dynamic a campaign had not been seen “since the days of Catholic Action”. Up till a few days ago, all the opinion polls suggested that the “yes” camp had a huge lead. But now it seems that the difference between the two camps is being significantly narrowed. Something similar happened in the referendum in 1998. We cannot make any prediction of the outcome…However, all this work will bear fruit irrespective of the result. The referendum of 1998 had already prompted the establishment of various centres of assistance to life. The role of these centres will now undoubtedly be reinforced and others will no doubt be founded to testify to the love for life that inspires many people in Portugal. And this culture of hope is important also for the future of Europe. A propaganda poster for the “no” vote, with a photo of a pregnant woman, reminds us of a well-known verse of the poet Fernando Pessoa: Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena (no effort is in vain when there’s greatness of spirit). On the great issues of life and the human person the message that will come out of Portugal will also be important for Europe.