The voters of San Marino have decided that abortion is allowed
The yes to the possibility of legally aborting has won in the referendum that was held on Sunday in the republic of San Marino: with a large maximum and a total against 22.7% against. In absolute terms, over 11 thousand votes against approximately 3200; the turnout in the referendum was about 41% of those entitled.
So far in San Marino abortion has been illegal even in the case of rape, serious malformations of the fetus and life threatening for the woman, and it was also a crime punishable by prison both for the woman and for terminating the pregnancy and for those who help her. . San Marino was one of the very few places in Europe where abortion is illegal or in any case severely limited, together with Vatican City, Malta, Andorra, Liechtenstein and Poland. The referendum was held after 18 years of attempts to decriminalize the voluntary termination of pregnancy, which until now have failed.
The referendum question asked: “You want the woman to be allowed to automatically terminate the pregnancy by the twelfth week of gestation, and also thereafter if there is danger to the woman’s life or if there are abnormalities and malformations of the fetus that pose serious risk to the physical or psychological health of the woman?”.
The referendum question was of a proactive or guiding nature, that is to say that its objective was the guiding principles and criteria to which the Great and General Council – the parliament of San Marino – will have to comply in order to formulate a more complete and broader legislation.
– Read also: How did the referendum on abortion in San Marino come about