Block wants to extend the deadline for terminating pregnancy to 14 weeks and put an end to “incomprehensible obstacles”
After the PS, it is the Left Bloc’s turn to bring the issue of voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG) back to Parliament. The blocists go further than the socialists and put forward a proposal that aims to extend the deadline for IVG from the current 10 to 14 weeks – the PS proposed an extension to the 12 weeks. “Portugal has some of the most restrictive laws in Europe. Taking into account the positive balance of the law, everything leads to the conclusion that it is time to extend the deadline”, defended Mariana Mortágua this Wednesday, the 25th, in the Assembly of the Republic. Previously, the bloc leader showed that in most European countries the law covers 12 weeks and in countries like Germany and Luxembourg it is already 14, similar to the bloc proposal.
In addition to extending the deadline, the Block also proposes the revocation of the three-day cooling-off period which is provided for in current law. And yet the revocation of the mandatory intervention of two different doctors (one to date the fetus and the other to perform IVG). In both cases, Mariana Mortágua argued that there is no “scientific evidence” that justifies these obligations that end up delaying or even making the procedure unfeasible. “If there is no clinical recommendation, this legal requirement [de dois profissionais de saúde] becomes just an obstacle.”he added.
