Tiny San Marino votes in referendum on legalizing abortion

ROME – Tiny San Marino is 1 of the past countries successful Europe which forbids termination successful immoderate condition — a prohibition that dates from 1865. On Sunday, its citizens tin ballot successful a referendum calling for termination to beryllium made ineligible successful the archetypal 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The ballot connection besides calls for termination to beryllium permitted beyond that constituent if the woman’s beingness is successful information oregon if her carnal oregon intelligence wellness are astatine hazard owed to fetal anomalies oregon malformations.

Women successful San Marino seeking an termination presently spell to neighboring Italy, which legalized the process successful 1978.

San Marino is 1 of the world’s oldest republics and has a colonisation of immoderate 33,000. The referendum was acceptable for Sunday aft immoderate 3,000 Sammarinesi, arsenic its citizens are called, signed a petition drive. About 65% of signatories are women, said Karen Pruccoli, a San Marino entrepreneur who spearheaded the drive.

“We had asked the governmental sphere to marque a law'' legalizing abortion, Pruccoli said successful a telephone interrogation Thursday. “When we realized that the governmental sphere didn't privation to enact a law, we decided to person the referendum.”

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No sentiment polls person been conducted. If “Yes” votes prevail, San Marino's Parliament volition request to legalize abortion.

Antonella Mularoni, who leads the “No” camp, noted that successful San Marino, women, including minors, tin person escaped contraception astatine pharmacies arsenic good arsenic the alleged “morning-after” pill. But each abortion, for immoderate reason, is simply a transgression successful San Marino, she stressed, and her run aims to support it that way.

When Sammarinesi spell to Italy to entree wellness attraction that mightiness not beryllium disposable successful their homeland — say, a transplant — their nationalist wellness work reimburses them, but not for termination since it's a transgression successful San Marino.

The “Yes” campy says that puts a fiscal load connected San Marino citizens who indispensable spell to Italy for an abortion.

Critics of San Marino's termination prohibition accidental it besides penalizes women who person been raped.

“If you are prevented oregon if your entree to the enactment services is hampered due to the fact that of the stigma — you whitethorn fearfulness that due to the fact that you don’t privation to marque it known that you bash not mean to transportation connected with the gestation — past it’s adjacent little apt that you volition crook to the constabulary and study the rape,” said Joanna Nelles, enforcement caput of the Council of Europe's monitoring mechanics for the Istanbul Convention connected combating unit against women. Nelles spoke with the AP successful a telephone interrogation Thursday.

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Younger women successful San Marino thin to beryllium much favorable toward termination rights, Mularoni acknowledged. “Many of the girls spell to schoolhouse successful Italy. They see (abortion) an acquired right.”

Pruccoli said young men successful San Marino are supportive arsenic well. "They survey successful Italy, they survey abroad. They are much forward-thinking. They recognize that San Marino can't person a instrumentality that's much than 150 years old,'' she said, referring to the 1865 prohibition connected abortion.

Other tiny countries successful Europe are considering easing termination bans. This spring, a lawmaker successful European Union subordinate federation Malta presented a measure to scrap portion of the transgression codification that makes termination a transgression punishable with up to 3 years successful prison. The proviso is seldom enforced, with the past known jailing for termination occurring successful 1980, according to Maltese officials.

In Gibraltar, a tiny British territory connected Spain's confederate tip, voters successful June endorsed legislative changes to easiness an termination prohibition and let the process up to the 12th week of gestation if a doc deems the woman's carnal oregon intelligence wellness is astatine hazard oregon if determination is hazard of a fatal fetal abnormality.

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Andorra, a microstate bordering Spain and France, has a full prohibition connected abortion.

Italy's termination law, fiercely lobbied against by the Catholic church, allows wellness unit to garbage to execute abortions for reasons of conscience. In immoderate confederate regions, arsenic galore arsenic 80% of gynecologists person claimed conscientious objector status, leaving a shortage of disposable personnel, peculiarly successful agrarian areas.

“These percentages (for objectors) are higher than those for practicing Catholics successful Italy'' said Mularoni, who leads the ”No" campy up of the referendum. She attributes Italian doctors' refusal to execute abortions to them seeing sonograms that amusement fetal organs. "It's not conscionable an statement of being Catholic,'' she said. Catholic teaching forbids abortion.

Rights were dilatory to travel for women successful San Marino. They received the close to ballot successful 1960. A 1982 referendum seeking to extremity a instrumentality which stripped San Marino women of their citizenship if they joined a foreigner failed. The instrumentality was aboriginal changed to let them to support their citizenship.

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Nicole Winfield successful Rome contributed to this report

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