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.

The referendum was held on a summer day, which is believed to have contributed to the very low turnout rate, that didn't pass the threshold of 50 percent of 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 then 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.

Polling Firm Date Released Sample sizeDirect Intention of VoteValid Vote Yes No Lead Yes No Lead Referendum results 28 Jun 1998 31.9 49.1 50.9 1.8 UCP 28 Jun 1998 47–53 46–52 1 UCP 19 Jun 1998 3,123 53.2 46.8 6.4 Metris 17 Jun 1998 1,006 44.4 41.6 13.4 2.8 52 48 2 Moderna 14 Jun 1998 1,441 54.4 35.5 10.1 18.9 61 39 22 SIC/Visão 9 Jun 1998 843 58.1 40.0 1.9 18.1 59 41 18 Euroexpansão 27 May 1998 644 81 13 6 68.0 86 14 72 Moderna 24 May 1998 1,434 55.6 33.1 11.4 22.5 63 37 26 SIC/Visão 21 May 1998 2,007 60.9 36.7 2.5 24.2 62 38 24 Metris 20 May 1998 1,008 46.9 43.9 9.1 3.0 52 48 4 UCP 5 May 1998 1,293 60.9 30.3 8.8 30.6 67 33 34 SIC/Visão 1 May 1998 709 63.1 35.3 1.6 27.8 64 36 28 Metris 8 Apr 1998 1,998 48.7 41.3 9.9 7.4 54 46 8

Results

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

See also Abortion by country

References

External links Comissão Nacional de Eleições