Signature Support.

The citizens who have signed below hereby present their total disagreement and perplexity with the government’s decision to prohibit the entrance of the Women on Waves boat to Portugal, which intended to go to the port of Figueira da Foz as part of a project aiming to defend the sexual and reproductive health of women, their right to responsible choice and to defend decriminalization of abortion in Portugal.

The arguments presented by the Portuguese government are not justified by national, European or international law or by democratic and civic norms that imply the participation of citizens and autonomous associations in the free expression of opinions and the constructive debate, in this case, concerning real problems.

Both Women on Waves and the Portuguese organizations have confirmed multiple times that Portuguese law would never be infringed and there are no motives to believe that the anything else would happen. Also, the Portuguese government had and has all the means and instruments necessary to verify if this was true.
Women on Waves have already done the same kind of action in two other member countries of the EU and none forbade its entrance, although abortion is also considered a crime in those countries as well. (Ireland and Poland).

Portugal is the only EU member that takes women to the court for the practice of abortion; it will be as well the only country that hinders the free action of civic organizations.

We totally refute the arguments presented by government – that this initiative would put the public health in danger – and we reaffirm their hypocrite character. The situation that exists today and the existing networks of clandestine abortion are the real threats to public health.

We reaffirm our will to continue all the initiatives that can take us to the change of an unfair and hypocrite law, that penalizes women and which is a national shame.

We appeal to all the citizens to, in spite of their personal opinion concerning having of an abortion, want to live in a country where women are not penalized, where respect of the choices of every women and family is granted, where dignity is considered a concrete value and where sexual education, family planning and general access to contraceptives can be everyone's right, manifest their disgust for this government’s decision and to give their support to the modification of the current law on the voluntary interruption of the pregnancy, or abortion. We appeal as well to the organs of sovereignty to make a public statement on this decision.