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?
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.
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:
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.
^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. S2CID142531080.
