LISBON, Portugal, DEC. 10, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva has scheduled a referendum on abortion for Feb. 11. On that date Portuguese people residing in the national territory will vote for or against this question: "Are you in agreement with the legalization of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, if carried out, by the woman's choice, in the first ten weeks in a legally authorized health institution?" In October, the Permanent Council of the Portuguese bishops' conference published a pastoral note giving reason why one should vote "no" and choose life. The first reason is that "the human being is wholly present from the beginning of life, when the latter is just at the embryonic stage." The second reason, the bishops explained, is that "legalization is not the appropriate way to resolve the drama of clandestine abortion." The third reason, they noted, is "that it is not about a mere 'legalization,' but about a 'legalized liberalization.'"
The prelates added that "abortion is not a woman's right. No one has the right to decide if a human being lives or does not live, even if it is the mother who has received him in her womb."
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