Abortion trial in Portugal suspended
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-09 14:50

The trial of three women accused of violating the staunchly Roman Catholic nation's strict rules against abortion was suspended again after a defense lawyer complained the judge was biased.

The trial which got under way last June, resumed only at the end of last month after an eight-month suspension following a defense motion to remove presiding judge Maria de Conceicao Miranda, which ultimately failed.

Public prosecutors in the industrial city of Setubal, just south of Lisbon, have charged two young women who had abortions as well as a nurse who allegedly carried out the procedures in exchange for around 400 euros (515 dollars).

Pro-choice demonstrators demand changes to the law that forbids abortion, outside the court in Setubal. The trial of three women accused of violating Portugal's strict rules against abortion was suspended again after a defense lawyer complained the judge was biased. [AFP/File]

Abortion is banned in Portugal except in cases involving rape or where there are serious health concerns.

Pedro Delille, the lawyer for the nurse, said he was convinced his client could not receive a fair trial after the judge made a clearly biased statement.

According to the lawyer the judge stated during one of the hearings that people who "devote themselves to such crimes are generally seeking financial gain."

Several dozen opponents of liberalizing Portugal's strict abortion law demonstrated outside the court on Friday.

Defense lawyers have also unsuccessfully sought to have the trial suspended until after a new referendum on Portugal's abortion laws, expected sometime next year, is held.

Portugal's new socialist government has promised to hold a fresh vote on the abortion laws but has not yet set a date for the referendum.

Polls have shown that most Portuguese are in favor of loosening the nation's abortion laws, which are among the strictest in Europe.

In a 1998 referendum the Portuguese rejected by a whisker a proposal to allow abortion on demand during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Nearly seven out of 10 voters stayed away from the poll.

Several trials of women accused of having had an abortion held in recent years have resulted in acquittals, with judges usually invoking insufficient evidence for their ruling.

The number of back-alley abortions annually in Portugal is estimated at between about 20,000 and 40,000, while thousands more go abroad to terminate unwanted pregnancies.

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