PRO-LIFE NEWS IN BRIEF.

Dutch Abortion Ship Leaves Portugal

Portuguese authorities succeeded in keeping the Dutch abortion ship out of their home ports, as the Borndiep sailed away September 10 after waiting for over two weeks in an attempt to perform abortions in violation of the country's laws, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The ship planned to dock at the port of Figueira da Foz August 28, take pregnant women on board, and return to international waters to perform "medical" (RU486) abortions on babies less than 6 1/2 weeks old, Reuters reported. The Portuguese government refused to allow the ship entry into the country, so the Borndiep remained in international waters without performing any abortions.

However, Rebecca Gomperts, the ship's founder and head of the Women on Waves Foundation, appeared on Portuguese television September 7 with step-by-step instructions on how to use a common over-the-counter medication to self-induce an abortion. Portuguese pro-life group Motherhood and Life filed a formal complaint with the government accusing Gomperts of "violating all the ethical norms of medicine" by encouraging women to misuse medication in a dangerous way, Agence France-Presse reported.

Medical groups also criticized Gomperts. The Northern Portugal Doctors Association told Diario de Noticias that she broke drug advertising laws, while Germano de Sousa of the national association of doctors said Gomperts' statements were "an incitement to an act considered to be a crime under Portugal's penal code," according to Agence France-Presse.

Pro-abortion members of the European Parliament have asked the European Union to sanction Portugal for restricting the right of people to travel freely, the AP reported. In a parliament debate September 15, however, other members said they supported Portugal's actions. "We feel the Portuguese government is entitled to refuse entry to a ship which would bring death," said Polish member Michal Tomasz Kaminski, according to the AP. "Unborn children have a right to life."

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