Abortion Referendums: Is There a Recipe for Success?

The topic of abortion has been among the most salient and polarizing issues on the European continent since the 1960s. However, abortion referendums have not received much attention from political scientists—to date, there is no comparative analysis of such popular votes. This article goes beyond the usual models of single case/country analyses and examines nationwide referendums on this policy in four European countries from the last four decades. The analysis focuses on twelve referendums and aims to identify the factors behind the pro‐choice or pro‐life outcome of a referendum by exploring the impact of relative consensus within the parliament, support of the head of government and medical experts, and the level of secularization of the country. The findings suggest that these factors have a substantial influence on the outcome. Related Articles Carmines, Edward G., Jessica C. Gerrity, and Michael W. Wagner. 2010. “How Abortion Became a Partisan Issue: Media Coverage of the Interest Group‐Political Party Connection.” Politics & Policy 38 (6): 1135‐1158. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2010.00272.x Doan, Alesha E., and Corinne Schwarz. 2020. “Father Knows Best: ‘Protecting’ Women through State Surveillance and Social Control in Anti‐Abortion Policy.” Politics & Policy 48 (1): 6‐37. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12337 LaFrance, T. Casey, and Brian Frederick. 2007. “Economic Status versus Same‐Sex Marriage Referenda in the 2004 Democratic Presidential Vote in ‘Appalachian’ Counties.” Politics & Policy 35 (2): 298‐317. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2007.00061.x