Seventeen acquitted in Portugal abortion case

Seventeen people charged with breaking Portugal's strict abortion laws were acquitted yesterday in a case that has fuelled a drive to decriminalise abortion.

A three-judge panel in Aveiro, a port city some 250 kilometres north of Lisbon, found the accused not guilty for lack of proof, a court spokeswoman said.

Those charged were a doctor, two employees, seven women accused of having abortions, and the women's partners.

"They were all acquitted," the spokeswoman said. TSF radio reported that prosecutors planned to appeal the decision.

Judges had ruled ultrasound scans inadmissible as evidence and consequently found prosecutors had failed to prove the women were pregnant, TSF said.

The case, which dates back to 1997, has led to a sharp debate about abortion in the overwhelmingly Catholic country. Opposition leftist parties have called for a referendum on the issue.

Duarte Vilar, executive director of the Family Planning Association, welcomed the decision but said it would not end such prosecutions. "With this law, we are only going to be waiting for the next court case, and that's all," he said.