So far in San Marino, women who have terminated their pregnancies risk three years in prison
The small republic of San Marino has voted overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing abortion in a referendum that overturns a law dating back to 1865, official results showed Sunday.
Some 77.30% of the voters supported the proposal to allow abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and thereafter only in case the mother’s life is in danger or severe fetal malformation.
The vote in the northern Italian enclave of 33,000 people comes as authorities in countries such as Poland and the US state of Texas tighten abortion laws. Earlier this month, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that punishing abortion is unconstitutional.
Until now in San Marino, women who had terminated their pregnancies were at risk of three years in prison. The term is twice as long for anyone who has had an abortion.
San Marino women seeking abortions usually went to Italy, where they could only obtain one privately, at a cost of about 1,500 euros ($1,765).
Elsewhere in Europe, the Mediterranean island of Malta, and the micro-states of Andorra and Vatican City, another Italian enclave, still ban abortions.
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