Portuguese abortion referendum, 1998

Portugal

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Politics and government of
Portugal

On 28 June 1998 a referendum on a new abortion law was conducted in Portugal; it was the first national referendum in the Portuguese history. The law was proposed by the Portuguese Communist Party and it decriminalized abortion during the first ten weeks of pregnancy and was considered by the left as the only way to put an end to the estimated 20 to 50 thousand illegal abortions in the country. The law was approved in the Assembly of the Republic through a majority of the center-left and left-wing parties, but an agreement between the Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party parties leaders led to the referendum.

The referendum was held on a summer day, which is said to have contributed to the fact that the turnout was so low that it didn't pass the threshold of 50 percent of the voters needed to make the decision binding, although the winning answer, NO, was respected and the law wasn't changed, meaning abortion was only allowed in exceptional case (such as rape, mal-formations of the fetus and danger to the women's health). In the following years, a few dozen women (a small minority of the estimated illegal abortions) were defendants in three trials for abortion.

A revote occurred in the Portuguese abortion referendum, 2007, where the result was reversed.

The question present in the ballots was: "Do you agree with the decriminalization of the voluntary interruption of the pregnancy, if it takes place in the first 10 weeks and in an authorized healthcare institution?"

Political positions

The major parties in Portugal at the time listed with their political positioning and their official answer to the referendum question:

Opinion polling

All polls published showed an advantage for the YES side, but official results showed a 51% to 49% win for the NO side. Late deciders and a low turnout may explain this result. Note, until 2000, the publication of opinion polls in the last week of the campaign was forbidden.

Last day Polling Polling Firm Sample size Direct Intention of Vote Valid Vote
YesYes No Undecided Lead YesYes No Lead
19 Jun Universidade Católica 3,123 N/A N/A N/A N/A 53.2 46.8 6.4
17 Jun Metris 1,006 44.4 41.6 13.4 2.8 52.0 48.0 2.0
14 Jun Moderna 1,441 54.4 35.5 10.1 18.9 61.0 39.0 22.0
9 Jun SIC/Visão 843 58.1 40.0 1.9 18.1 59.0 41.0 18.0
27 May Euroexpansão 644 81.0 13.0 6.0 68.0 86.0 14.0 72.0
24 May Moderna 1,434 55.6 33.1 11.4 22.5 63.0 37.0 26.0
21 May SIC/Visão 2,007 60.9 36.7 2.5 24.2 62.0 38.0 24.0
20 May Metris 1,008 46.9 43.9 9.1 3.0 52.0 48.0 4.0
5 May Universidade Católica 1,293 60.9 30.3 8.8 30.6 67.0 33.0 34.0
1 May SIC/Visão 709 63.1 35.3 1.6 27.8 64.0 36.0 28.0
8 Apr Metris 1,998 48.7 41.3 9.9 7.4 54.0 46.0 8.0
1998

Results

Most voted answer per district (Azores and Madeira not shown).
No: 1,356,754 (50.91%) Yes: 1,308,130 (49.09%)
▲
Portuguese abortion referendum, 1998
Choice Votes %
Referendum failed No 1,356,754 50.91
Yes 1,308,130 49.09
Valid votes 2,664,884 98.35
Invalid or blank votes 44,619 1.65
Total votes 2,709,503 100.00
Registered voters and turnout 8,496,089 31.89
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

References

See also

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