The only MPs Livre and PAN urgently want to hear Health Minister Manuel Pizarro in Parliament, among others, about the alleged restrictions on access to voluntary abortions in public hospitals.
In a request addressed to the chairman of the parliamentary committee on health, Social Democrat António Malo de Abreu, Livre asks to hear, in addition to the minister, the director of the National Health Service (SNS) Fernando Araujo, the Director General of Health Graça Freitas and the head of the department of sexual, reproductive health, children’s health and Youth Directorate General of Health Dean Oliveira.
In the text, the party, represented in the Assembly of the Republic by Deputy Rui Tavares, recalls that since 2007 termination of pregnancy at the request of a woman has become legal up to 10 weeks of pregnancy and since then “the number of voluntary terminations of pregnancy is known.” the number of pregnancies is reduced, and the procedures are performed safely and without risk to the lives of women.”
“Despite what is provided by law, access to the SNS for voluntary termination of pregnancy is neither easy nor guaranteed, as has been repeatedly condemned and as shown in the February 11 Diário de Notícias report,” they write. .
Livre argues that “access to IVG is a public health issue and a human right that a country must guarantee” and highlights that in July 2022, the “United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)) noted with concern the uneven application Law no. 3/2016 of 29 February recommending the Portuguese State to ensure the effective application of the law in all regions of the country and for all women.”
PAN’s only member, Inés Souza Real, also filed a request this Monday to hear Manuel Pizarro, as well as Health Inspector General António Carlos Caeiro Carapeta, President of the Board of Directors of Sofia Nogueira’s health regulator. da Silva and Teresa Bombas, responsible for safe abortion of the International Federation of Gynecologists.
The PAN MP argues that the information communicated by DN “and the obstacles reported in it, if confirmed, constitute an intolerable violation of the rights enshrined in Law No. 16/2007 of April 17, and as such, in addition to a thorough require corrective measures that guarantee the reproductive rights recognized for women by current legislation.”
PAN intends that “the Assembly of the Republic hold a wide range of hearings to clarify the obstacles to IVG described above (and the existence of other situations in addition to those reported) and to establish the necessary corrective measures. ensure that women’s reproductive rights, enshrined “in law”, are fully and strictly respected and that situations such as those reported do not recur.”
This weekend, Diário de Notícias (DN) reported that “public hospitals are violating the abortion law,” after an investigation that reported several cases where the law was not enforced.
PS has already announced that it wants to urgently hear Director General of Health Graça Freitas in Parliament, while BE has also asked to hear Minister of Health Manuel Pizarro.
In 2007, a national referendum allowed women in Portugal to terminate their pregnancies up to 10 weeks in a recognized and capable facility. Prior to this, abortion was punished and criminalized.