Portuguese public hospitals have performed 100 abortions in the first week since it was legalized in the country, local media reported on Tuesday.
Lisbon's Alfredo da Costa maternity union performed 44 abortions, the most of the abortions, with six by surgical means and the rest of them by using drugs. Lisbon's Santa Maria hospital received 29 abortion requests, but rejected seven of them because the pregnancies were too far advanced.
Abortions up to week 10 of pregnancy became legal in Portugal last Monday following a February referendum on the issue. Some doctors, however, have refused to perform abortions, declaring themselves conscientious objectors.
There have also been protests by anti-abortion groups. Three women chose not to go ahead with their abortions during the obligatory, three-day cooling-off period.
In the autonomous region of Madeira in northeastern Portugal, Alberto Joao Jardim, from the conservative Social Democratic Party, said the regional government has decided not to ratify the law.
Source: Xinhua
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