Socialists Fight for Womens Rights

The Socialist government of Portugal was blocked in an effort to extend the reproductive freedom of women, but the struggle against the reactionaries carries on.

LISBON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Portugal's constitutional court rejected on Friday a decision by parliament to hold a referendum on abortion this year, saying it could be held at the earliest at the end of next year, Lusa news agency reported.

The court decided that the referendum could not go ahead on Nov. 27 as the ruling Socialists wanted because of a rejection of the vote by President Jorge Sampaio earlier this year.

The Socialist government, which came to power early in 2005, promised in its election manifesto to hold a referendum on abortion in this deeply Catholic country, one of the few in Europe to still ban abortions.

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The Family Planning Association has estimated there are 20,000 to 40,000 illegal abortions a year in Portugal.

As with most in the "Right to Choose" crowd, I am not a huge fan of abortion for its own sake, but and firmly and staunchly in favor of reproductive rights for women. Any other position simply plays into the hands of traditional forces that view women as property to be controlled.

Portugal Elects Socialist Government

The elections saw the biggest turn out (65% voters) since the 1974 Portuguese Revolution. The vast majority of voters rejected the last 2 years of vicious neo-liberal policies carried out by the coalition of the Liberals (PPD/PSD) and Conservatives (CDS-PP).

All the left parties grew, both in total votes and by their number of MPs.

The PS (Socialist Party) got a solid majority of 119 MPs, and therefore the party’s General Secretary, José Sócrates, will be the next prime minister. But the Communist Party/Green Party coalition also increased its MPs. Going from 13 to 14 seats; the Left Bloc won a spectacular increase in votes, and jumped from 3 to 8 MPs”.