NUS Women’s Campaign are proud to have received this message from our sisters in Portugal after we sent our messages of solidarity to them in the run up to their referendum on abortion.

We really are the Pro Choice majority – don’t ever forget to voice your belief in the rights of women to make decisions about their own bodies.

Kat

X

Continue your Pro Choice activism:

3rd March, Parliament Square (London), 12.30 – Abortion Rights Pro Choice Photo Shoot!

3rd March, ULU Malet Street (London), 6.30 –

Pro Choice Demonstration!

A THANK YOU AND SOME VERY GOOD NEWS FROM PORTUGAL! Read below.

Hello!

I am writing to thank you, once again, for supporting our campaign for the depenalisation of abortion in Portugal.

I am sorry for having taken so long to send you feedback about the press conference we held on January 24th to present the list of international organisations calling for a "Yes" vote in the referendum. As you can imagine, these last couple of weeks leading to the referendum were particularly busy and hectic, with several campaign actions planned all over the country. It was only this weekend, as the campaign came to an end, that we finally managed to put all the information together and send out feedback and reports.

And it is a HUGE honour and pleasure to tell you that not only was your support greatly appreciated by Portuguese pro-choice movements, but it was also very effective, because the YES WON THE REFERENDUM TODAY, with 59.25% of votes! From now on, women will be able to have abortions, on request, at a hospital during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, with no fear of criminal persecution.

The abstention rate was quite high (56,4%) and because less than 50% of registered voters participated in the referendum, its result is not binding. However, the Government has declared that this result will be fully respected and that work to establish and implement a new Portuguese law on abortion will commence immediately.

This is a crucial step in the struggle for sexual and reproductive health and rights for women in Portugal and it is a very important day for our national pro-choice movement. We are therefore sincerely grateful for the support you have provided over the last month and are confident that you too will be happy with this victory of the "Yes!" in Portugal.

Below, you will find a more detailed report of the press conference and the support we received from all over the world.

Attached, you will find 2 photos of the press conference (taken by colleagues of the "Citizenship and Responsibility for the YES" group), as well as 1 photo of the celebration of the victory of the "Yes" ("Sim", in Portuguese), taken by Marcos Borga, of the Reuters news agency.

If you require additional or more detailed information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you publish articles about this on your website or email newsletter, it would be great if you could let me know, so that we can collate all this information.

Once again, thank you!

All the best,

Maria Pereira

"Citizenship and Responsibility for the YES" Pro-choice Action Group,

with the World March of Women and the Portuguese Platform for Women's Rights

REPORT

In January, the "Citizenship and Responsibility for the YES" Pro-choice Action Group, with the World March of Women and the Portuguese Platform for Women's Rights launched a call for international solidarity, contacting foreign pro-choice organisations to ask for their support in the campaign for the depenalisation of abortion in Portugal, in preparation for the referendum on February 11th. This international support was crucial because it would show the Portuguese people that individuals and organisations from all over the world were actively calling for a "Yes!" vote and were paying close attention to the campaign and result of the referendum.

We received messages of support from 21 European countries (Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Check Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Turkey) and 8 countries in America and Asia (Canada, USA, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Pakistan).

In total, 14 international NGOs, 109 national, regional or local NGOs and many individuals answered our call and expressed their support for the depenalisation of abortion.

These organisations and individuals expressed their solidarity in several different ways, namely by

- allowing us to include their name and/or logo in the list of international supporting organisations

- organising demonstrations in front of Portuguese Embassies and Consulates in Paris, Barcelona and Bern on January 18th and Vigo on February 1st)

- sending letters to Portuguese Ambassadors

- sending press releases to media in their own country

- sending press releases to the Portuguese media

- publishing news about the referendum on their websites

- and disseminating this call of solidarity within their networks

These actions were reported to the Portuguese public and media in a press conference held on January 24th in Lisbon. We had planned to present at this press conference a banner with the names and logos of all suporting organisations but the response to our call of solidarity exceeded our expectations and we soon discovered that it was impossible to fit all of the received logos in one banner. Therefore, the 109 logos were displayed to media and public by means of a Powerpoint presentation and projector. This press conference was well attended by journalists and some articles were published in national newspapers on the following day.

The rest of the campaign was particularly active and lively, taking place in streets, newspapers, TV and on the Internet, especially through blogs and video sharing websites.

The Portuguese Prime-Minister, from the Socialist Party, stressed the need to put an end to the shame of illegal and unsafe abortion. The pro-choice movements drew attention to the need to end distress and public humilliation, especially for women from less privileged backgrounds, as well as the importance of treating abortion as a sexual health and rights concern and not a criminal issue.

The "No" movements argued that the depenalisation of abortion would increase the number of abortions as well as the expenses of the National Health Service. The Church also campaigned arguing that the depenalisation of abortion would put traditional values in danger.

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