Gibraltar prepares itself for long-delayed vote on abortion

Gibraltar has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, with terminations only legal under the circumstances it would save a mother’s life, and illegal procedures resulting in life imprisonment under current laws – although such a penalty has not been applied in modern times.

Last year, on 19 March 2020, the people of Gibraltar were set to vote in a referendum that would, if passed, liberalise the country’s draconian abortion laws and see abortion become legal up to 12 weeks in the case that a mother’s physical or mental health is at risk (such as following rape or incest), or beyond if such damages were deemed fatal.

There would be no time limit in the case of foetal physical anomaly.

However, due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the government decided to postpone the referendum.

The advice at the time was for the elderly population in Gibraltar, one of the world’s most densely populated territories, to stay at home. The government said the legitimacy of the result could be called into question if a certain demographic of people had been asked to stay at home while at the same time being asked to an “exercise in universal suffrage”.

A statement from the chief minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, at the time said: “This does not contradict the Public Health advice, as we are not doing something they advise us not to do, we are just taking a view as to the potential democratic legitimacy of the result, which must stand up to scrutiny.”

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On 11 March, a year after the referendum was initially postponed, the government announced an official date for the rescheduled referendum, which will take place on 24 June.

In a statement, Mr Picardo said: “As things slowly improve now we are confident we will be able to see people vote safely by late June, with appropriate precautions in place and encouraging postal voting.”

Independent MP and pro-choice campaigner Marlene Hassan-Nahon, who is one of only two women MPs among the 17-strong Gibraltarian parliament, said that before the referendum was proposed, women from the overseas territory were able to receive abortion healthcare “just across the border” in Spain.

It was only when Brexit threatened the closing of that border that the government in Gibraltar decided to raise the issue of abortion on the Rock.

Selena Victory, a spokesperson for the official Yes campaign – Gibraltar For Yes! – and campaign group No More Shame Gib, told The Independent: “We have managed to obtain some statistics from one of the main abortion clinics across the border in Spain and from [online telemedicine organisation] Women on Web which indicate that there has been a significant rise in abortions during lockdown – as much as 75 per cent.”

She added: “Even during lockdown, and even during the toughest restrictions on travel, people will find a way of accessing abortions.”

In Her Shoes Gibraltar, an anonymous Facebook page created for women to share their experiences with accessing abortion healthcare, said: “The pandemic has, of course, made things more difficult for women accessing abortions this last year, particularly during the earlier days when the frontier was shut off completely.

“I found myself at one time talking with border and coastguards, and the Guardia Civil, to be able to offer women in crisis accurate information on what documents they would need to cross the frontier to access what Spain considered essential health care.”

A repeat of last year’s campaign will happen between now and 24 June, but pro-choice campaigners believe a rehashing of last year’s divisive campaign will only “hurt and divide our community more”.

The anti-choice lobby in Gibraltar is “mainly fuelled and supported by religious groups”, Ms Hassan-Nahon said, making the issue of abortion a particularly polarising one.

She added: “Covid-19 measures in Gibraltar, in general, have been relaxed, and women are going back to Spain to have their abortions, so now it’s an appropriate time to reignite this referendum.

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“But... I don’t know why we have to wait three months for it, because the division and the vitriol is just going to get to high levels again.”

Ms Hassan Nahon continued: “On day one, I was already being sent messages calling me a cold-blooded murderer and things like that, so you can imagine what the next three months are going to be like.”

A spokesperson for the government said: “There are independent ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigns – by their very nature all referenda everywhere in the world will be divisive whatever the issue at stake.

“Divisive argument is the essence and nature of democracy and does not require a loss of respect between the parties on opposite sides of the argument.

“We have no doubt that after the referendum everyone will come together whatever the outcome.”

The last opinion poll carried out a week before the original referendum date by the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation showed 70 per cent in favour of the change, whereas only 19 per cent intended to vote against.

Ms Victory said: “We are optimistic that we will soon see a change in the law, but feel very much that this will only be the beginning of a journey to build equitable, fit for purpose sexual health reproductive services in Gibraltar.”