1998 Portuguese abortion referendum

On 28 June 1998 a referendum on a new abortion law was conducted in Portugal; it was the second national referendum in the Portuguese history and the first after the 1974 Carnation Revolution. 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.[1]

1998 Portuguese abortion referendum
28 June 1998
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?
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 1,308,130 49.09%
No 1,356,754 50.91%
Valid votes 2,664,884 98.35%
Invalid or blank votes 44,619 1.65%
Total votes 2,709,503 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 8,496,089 31.89%
District Results

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 did not 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 was not 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 2007 Portuguese abortion referendum, 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

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

Opinion polling

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All polls published showed an advantage for the YES side, but official results showed a 51 to 49 percent 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.

  Exit poll

Last day polling Poll source Sample size Direct Intention of Vote Valid Vote
Yes No Undecided Lead Yes No Lead
28 Jun Referendum results 31.9% 49.1 50.9 1.8
28 Jun Universidade Católica 47.0–53.0 46.0–52.0 1.0
19 Jun Universidade Católica 3,123 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

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Most voted answer per district (Azores and Madeira not shown).
Portuguese abortion referendum, 1998
Choice Votes %
  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/turnout 8,496,089 31.89
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições
Referendum results (excluding invalid votes)
Yes
1,308,130 (49.1%)
No
1,356,754 (50.9%)

50%

Results by district

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District Yes No Turnout
Votes % Votes %
  Aveiro 53,657 32.27% 112,621 67.73% 30.63%
  Azores 8,422 17.20% 40,545 82.80% 27.21%
  Beja 25,477 78.17% 7,114 21.83% 22.96%
  Braga 55,770 22.73% 189,555 77.27% 39.55%
  Bragança 10,899 26.25% 30,621 73.75% 28.58%
  Castelo Branco 25,341 47.22% 28,330 52.78% 28.78%
  Coimbra 52,487 52.94% 46,649 47.06% 27.33%
  Évora 28,137 72.98% 10,417 27.02% 21.62%
  Faro 46,519 69.59% 20,331 30.41% 22.38%
  Guarda 15,836 29.89% 37,145 70.11% 31.99%
  Leiria 50,939 48.26% 54,612 51.74% 29.40%
  Lisbon 416,285 68.51% 191,342 31.49% 34.36%
  Madeira 15,681 23.97% 49,733 76.03% 32.76%
  Portalegre 17,879 67.78% 8,537 32.32% 24.14%
  Porto 192,100 42.38% 261,211 57.62% 33.39%
  Santarém 63,273 56.57% 48,581 43.43% 29.83%
  Setúbal 169,742 81.89% 37,534 18.11% 33.37%
  Viana do Castelo 19,365 26.21% 54,506 73.79% 34.09%
  Vila Real 15,907 26.97% 50,453 76.03% 31.28%
  Viseu 24,891 24.22% 77,861 75.78% 30.37%
Source: Direcção Geral da Administração Interna

References

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General

  • "CNE Resultados". Comissão Nacional de Eleições. Archived from the original on 8 April 2005. Retrieved 17 May 2005.
  • "Centro de Estudos do Pensamento Político". Archived from the original on 2006-08-18. Retrieved 17 May 2005.

Specific

  1. ^ Manuel, Paul Christopher; Tollefsen, Maurya N. (2008). "Roman Catholicism, Secularization and the Recovery of Traditional Communal Values: The 1998 and 2007 Referenda on Abortion in Portugal". South European Society and Politics. 13 (1): 117–129. doi:10.1080/13608740802005868. S2CID 142531080.

See also

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