Gibraltar votes to ease strict abortion law
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[June 25, 2021]
By Marco Trujillo
GIBRALTAR (Reuters) -Gibraltar voted to
ease a strict abortion law, officials said on Friday, after a referendum
which some locals said marked a long overdue advancement of women's
rights in the tiny British territory.
Around 62% of voters who took part backed the change in Thursday's
ballot, where turnout was about 52% of the 23,000 odd eligible voters,
Gibraltar's parliament said.
"Gibraltar does have to keep up with the times, you cannot live in the
past," said Jacqueline, a Gibraltarian woman who declined to give her
last name, on Friday morning.
The vote "is an excellent result for women," chief minister Fabian
Picardo, who backed 'yes' in a divisive campaign, said on Twitter. "We
will also work to introduce the new services we will require to ensure
counselling and safe and legal abortions," he added.
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Criminal law in the British enclave on Spain's southern tip had banned
abortion in all circumstances, with a maximum punishment in theory of
life in prison. While no one has ever been convicted, citizens and
residents were forced to go to Spain or travel to Britain to have an
abortion.
The referendum had originally been scheduled for March 2020, but was
postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Even with the amendment approved on Thursday, the law remains more
restrictive than in most of the rest of Europe.
The amendment to the criminal law approved by the referendum allows
pregnancies to be terminated by a registered physician within the first
12 weeks in cases where the pregnancy carries more risk to the mother's
health than termination.
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![](../images/062521pics/news_u39.jpg)
Women, among the organisers of the Yes and No campaign, pose for a
photograph during the abortion referendum outside a polling station,
in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, June 24, 2021.
REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo
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Abortions would be permitted at a later stage of
pregnancy under a narrow set of circumstances.
Pro-life groups, who opposed the new bill, say the wording of the
law could be interpreted in a way that would ultimately allow most
abortions after 12 weeks of conception.
Others said the bill did not encourage abortion but that it was
important the choice should rest with the woman.
"I am not pro-abortion, but I am pro-choice," said Sheela, another
Gibraltar resident. "I think every person should have, at the end of
the day, their own right to do what they want."
(Reporting by Marco Trujillo in GIBRALTAR and Inti Landauro in
MADRID; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Philippa Fletcher)
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