GIBRALTAR VOTES TO RELAX ABORTION LAW - YES ACHIEVES 62 %
Gibraltar has overwhelmingly voted to change the law regulating abortion.
In yesterday’s referendum, 62% voted “Yes” with 36.6% voting “No”.
The results were announced by the Referendum Administrator Paul Martinez before 1:00am this morning at the University of Gibraltar Europa Point campus.
The Crimes (Amendment) Act 2019, which was passed by Parliament in 2019, will now be commenced by the Government within the next 28 days. The change allows for abortions to take place in Gibraltar in a wider set of circumstances than was previously legally possible.
The referendum was originally scheduled to be held on the 19th March 2020 but it was postponed due to the public health restrictions in place during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
12,343 people voted yesterday - this represents 52.88% of registered voters. As a comparison, 83.64% of the electorate voted in 2016's EU membership referendum. 56.9% of those who voted were women, 43% were men. For the first time, the franchise was extended to 16 and 17 year olds.
Speaking after the results were announced, Isobel Ellul, representing Gibraltar for Yes, said: “Today Gibraltar voted yes!”
In between chants from supporters of “No more shame!”, Ms Ellul continued: “Yes for human rights, yes for women and girls, yes for trusting doctors and healthcare professionals, yes for choice, yes for compassion and empathy, yes for healthcare and care, yes for reproductive rights, yes for female bodily autonomy and yes for abortion that is at home, safe and legal.”
She added that the campaign had defended women’s rights in the face of often “aggressive” opposition.
Ms Ellul concluded: “We have made history, or HERstory!”
Representing Save Babies, Vote No, Karenza Morillo said that the “no” position embodied “a commitment to justice” and “human rights.” Ms Morillo said it was time for both sides to focus on areas where they had “common ground” adding that new frameworks of support for women were needed. She said the Gibraltar Pro-Life Movement was committed to help young mothers and women who have undergone abortions.
The Chief Minister Fabian Picardo started his speech by thanking the referendum organisational staff.
Given the low turnout, Mr Picardo urged everyone who didn’t go out to cast a vote today to reflect on why they hadn’t participated in this exercise in democracy.
He said that the Government would commence the new law but also put in place mechanisms for the counselling and support of women to ensure that any woman seeking an abortion from the GHA would “have the support that she needs.”
Mr Picardo congratulated the Yes campaign and held out a hand of “friendship and continued dialogue” to the No camp in an effort to “reunify our people.”
After hinting at the challenges posed by Brexit and COVID, Mr Picardo ended: “Let us move forward, as one, richer for this exercise in democracy.”
In an unexpected move, Ms Morillo then took the stage again and asked Mr Picardo if he would give a commitment on whether private clinics would be allowed to carry out abortions. She also asked if healthcare professionals would be forced to carry out terminations.
Mr Picardo, noting the unconventional manner of the request, said the Government does not intend to issue permission for abortions to take place outside of the GHA. He said that the rights and views of those who worked for the Government would be respected.
