1998 Portuguese abortion referendum

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1998 Portuguese abortion referendum
Flag of Portugal (official).svg
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 %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes1,308,13049.09%
Light brown x.svg No1,356,75450.91%
Valid votes2,664,88498.35%
Invalid or blank votes44,6191.65%
Total votes2,709,503100.00%
Registered voters/turnout8,496,08931.89%

1998 Portuguse Abortion Referendum results.svg
District Results

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.

Contents

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]

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:

Campaign period

Choices slogans

ChoiceOriginal sloganEnglish translationRefs
Yes« Basta! Vota Sim. »
« SIM, pela despenalização do aborto. »
"Enough! Vote Yes"
"YES, for the decriminalization of abortion."
[4]
No« Anda, vale a pena viver. »
« Aborto a pedido? Não, obrigado. »
"Come on, life is worth living"
"Abortion on demand? No thanks."
[4]

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

Polling FirmDate ReleasedSample sizeDirect Intention of VoteValid Vote
YesNoUnd.LeadYesNoLead
Referendum results28 Jun 199831.949.150.91.8
UCP 28 Jun 199847–5346–521
UCP 19 Jun 19983,12353.246.86.4
Metris 17 Jun 19981,00644.441.613.42.852482
Moderna 14 Jun 19981,44154.435.510.118.9613922
SIC/Visão 9 Jun 199884358.140.01.918.1594118
Euroexpansão 27 May 19986448113668.0861472
Moderna 24 May 19981,43455.633.111.422.5633726
SIC/Visão 21 May 19982,00760.936.72.524.2623824
Metris 20 May 19981,00846.943.99.13.052484
UCP 5 May 19981,29360.930.38.830.6673334
SIC/Visão 1 May 199870963.135.31.627.8643628
Metris 8 Apr 19981,99848.741.39.97.454468

Results

Most voted answer per district (Azores and Madeira not shown). Pt abortion 1998.PNG
Most voted answer per district (Azores and Madeira not shown).
Portuguese abortion referendum, 1998
ChoiceVotes %
Light brown x.svg No1,356,75450.91
Yes1,308,13049.09
Valid votes2,664,88498.35
Invalid or blank votes44,6191.65
Total votes2,709,503100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,496,08931.89
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

DistrictYesNoTurnout
Votes %Votes %
  Aveiro 53,65732.27%112,62167.73%30.63%
  Azores 8,42217.20%40,54582.80%27.21%
  Beja 25,47778.17%7,11421.83%22.96%
  Braga 55,77022.73%189,55577.27%39.55%
  Bragança 10,89926.25%30,62173.75%28.58%
  Castelo Branco 25,34147.22%28,33052.78%28.78%
  Coimbra 52,48752.94%46,64947.06%27.33%
  Évora 28,13772.98%10,41727.02%21.62%
  Faro 46,51969.59%20,33130.41%22.38%
  Guarda 15,83629.89%37,14570.11%31.99%
  Leiria 50,93948.26%54,61251.74%29.40%
  Lisbon 416,28568.51%191,34231.49%34.36%
  Madeira 15,68123.97%49,73376.03%32.76%
  Portalegre 17,87967.78%8,53732.32%24.14%
  Porto 192,10042.38%261,21157.62%33.39%
  Santarém 63,27356.57%48,58143.43%29.83%
  Setúbal 169,74281.89%37,53418.11%33.37%
  Viana do Castelo 19,36526.21%54,50673.79%34.09%
  Vila Real 15,90726.97%50,45376.03%31.28%
  Viseu 24,89124.22%77,86175.78%30.37%
Source: Direcção Geral da Administração Interna

References

General

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.
  2. "Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa diz que fará campanha pelo "não" no referendo do aborto". RTP (in Portuguese). 23 March 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  3. "O referendo sobre o aborto". Público (in Portuguese). 27 March 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Há 25 anos, votava-se o primeiro referendo do aborto. Estas imagens contam como foi". Público (in Portuguese). 28 June 1998. Retrieved 3 November 2024.

See also