PORTUGAL's prime minister vowed yesterday to enact more liberal abortion laws in the conservative Catholic country, even though proposals to scrap restrictions failed to win complete endorsement in a referendum.
The poll yesterday saw 59 per cent of voters declare themselves in favour of the government's plans to change the country's restrictive legislation, but the turnout was too low to make the referendum binding.
Just over 43 per cent of the 8.7 million registered voters gave their opinion, 7 per cent short of the required figure.
However, José Sócrates, the socialist prime minister, a firm supporter of abortion rights, had already declared that he would use his government's majority to push the change through parliament if such a situation occurred.
Last night, he said: "The law will now be discussed and approved in parliament. Our interest is to fight clandestine abortion and we have to produce a law that respects the result of the referendum. The people spoke with a clear voice."
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