Since Portugal’s government legalised abortion, numbers opting for the operation have fallen and there have been no related deaths since 2011
In the 1970s, abortion was the third leading cause of death among women but between 2002 and 2007, the years leading up to its legalisation, there were 14 deaths known to be related to abortion procedures.
Since legalisation, there has not been a single death attributable to the operation.
Legalisation took abortion from the back street into the hospital operating room, a safer and more supportive environment.
In 2016, there were 15,416 abortions carried out, 14% fewer than in 2008.
Women also are coming to Portugal to have abortions, especially from Brazil where abortion is allowed only in cases of rape or when the fetus is anencephalic,* otherwise it is illegal and has been since 1942.
Some 379 Brazilan women had abortions in Portugal in 2016.
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* Anencephaly is the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp that occurs during embryonic development.
