Portugal divided ahead of abortion referendum
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Portugal holds a referendum on Sunday to decide whether to legalise abortion, an emotive issue in the overwhelmingly Catholic country where there are worries not enough people will vote to validate a decision.
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BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- The divided voters of Northern Ireland held the fate of power-sharing in their hands as they began deciding Wednesday which parties should control a Catholic-Protestant administration.
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LISBON - Catholic Portugal's decision to join most European countries and allow abortions has shaken the country's conservative establishment but was hailed by liberals as a victory for ...Comment
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A referendum on legalizing abortion in Portugal looked likely to fail on Sunday because of low voter turnout, exit polls said.
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Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said on Wednesday that it was too early to decide whether the new European Union treaty should be submitted to a referendum in his country.
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A national referendum to scrap Portugal's strict abortion law appeared headed to defeat Sunday by low turnout, though a majority of voters cast ballots in its favor.
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British public in danger of losing its 'moral focus' on abortion, says Archbishop of Canterbury.
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Portugal's parliament approves abortion on demand after a referendum last month failed to settle the issue.
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VIANA DO CASTELO, Portugal  - European Union states will seek to maintain a common front over the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo on Saturday, amid growing concern that it will declare independence unilaterally.
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Portugal has warned that a floating Dutch abortion clinic will not be allowed to enter its waters. The clinic offers the abortion pill in international waters to women in countries where it is illegal or restricted.
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This month, Catholic Portugal may decide to break ranks with a small group of countries including Ireland and Poland and legalize abortions, in a referendum which some cast as a deeper test of its readiness for progress.
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After controversial visits to Ireland and Poland, a Dutch boat made into a floating abortion clinic set sail for Portugal to draw attention to the staunchly Roman Catholic country's highly restrictive abortion laws.
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Portuguese voted on Sunday on whether to legalize abortion in a referendum that could bring the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country closer into line with most other European states.
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Portugal's parliament approved, as  expected, a law to lift the ban on abortion by a majority vote  late on Thursday.
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Voters in California are almost evenly divided on a ballot measure that could approve state funding for stem cell research, according to a poll released on Sunday.
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Portugal's Catholic church blamed  "cultural mutation" on Friday for the large number of people  who voted to legalize abortion in a referendum and urged  doctors to refuse to carry out the operation if asked.
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Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said on Sunday he would ask parliament to vote to lift a ban on abortion despite a referendum on the issue looking likely to fail due to low voter turnout.