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.

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 No   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90% Yes   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%

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

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

• Left
  • Portuguese Communist Party - YES
  • Ecologist Party "The Greens" - YES
  • Socialist Party - NEUTRAL (most of the party said YES, however, important members, including the General-Secretary and Prime-Minister António Guterres said NO)
• Right
  • Social Democratic Party - NEUTRAL (most of the party said NO, including the then party leader Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, but high ranking members like José Pacheco Pereira said YES)
  • People's Party - NO

Campaign period

Choices slogans

Choice		Original slogan	English translation	Refs
	Yes	« Basta! Vota Sim. » « SIM, pela despenalização do aborto. »	"Enough! Vote Yes" "YES, for the decriminalization of abortion."
	No	« Anda, vale a pena viver. » « Aborto a pedido? Não, obrigado. »	"Come on, life is worth living" "Abortion on demand? No thanks."

Opinion polling

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

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

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

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

See also

• Abortion by country