Portugal was deciding in a national referendum yesterday whether to discard its strict abortion law and adopt a more liberal policy that would bring the country into line with most other European nations.

The center-left Socialist government wants to grant women the right to opt for abortion during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Portugal, where more than 90 percent of people say they are Catholic, has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the European Union. Its legislation places it in a minority in the bloc with Poland, Ireland and Malta.

The procedure is allowed only in cases of rape, fetal malformation or if a mother's health is in danger, and only in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

In the 23 other EU nations, abortion is permitted within much broader limits. Women can ask for abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy in Britain and up to the 12th week in Germany, France and Italy.

The government has portrayed the ballot as a measure of Portugal's willingness to adopt more modern attitudes.

Its effort to change the law, though, has run into emphatic opposition from the influential Roman Catholic Church.

The single question on the ballot asks voters if they want to allow abortion up to the 10th week. Voters at more than 12,000 polling stations are to tick a box under "yes" or "no".

At midday, voter turnout was low, with fewer than 12 percent of eligible voters casting ballots on a windy and rainy morning, officials said. Traditionally in Portugal, more people vote in the afternoon.

Recent opinion polls have indicated that a majority of Portugal's 8.9 million registered voters intend to approve the change. However, doubt remains over whether enough ballots will be cast to make the outcome binding.

In a 1998 referendum on the same question, voters balked at making a choice and the ballot was declared void after fewer than the mandatory 50 percent-plus-one of registered voters turned out.

Anticipating a repeat of the 1998 referendum, Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said that if the turnout is too low to make the ballot binding but the "yes" camp collects most of the votes cast he will use his party's majority in Parliament to push through legislation allowing abortion.

Source: China Daily/Agencies