Abortion On The Ballot In Five States

By Catholic League president Bill Donohue

In August, voters in Kansas turned back an effort to amend the state constitution: it would have declared there is no right to an abortion. Now voters in five other states will decide to expand or contract abortion rights.

Pro-life activists in Kentucky hope to do what the voters in Kansas decided against, making sure there is nothing in the state constitution that creates a right to abortion or requires government funding of abortions.

Voters in Montana will decide whether to legalize selective infanticide. To be specific, the ballot initiative states that infants born alive are legal persons and therefore cannot be denied medical care. It matters not a whit if the baby survived as a result of induced labor, cesarean section, attempted abortion, or some other means.

Voters in California, Michigan and Vermont will decide if they want to effectively ban all abortion restrictions.

California voters will decide if their state constitution should be amended to ensure that the state cannot restrict abortions for any reason. California bishops have spoken out against Proposition 1, saying it would provide for late-term abortions (which most Californians do not support). Gov. Gavin Newsom, who says he is a Catholic, spent $2.5 million over two weeks on ads imploring Californians to vote for the pro-abortion measure.

If Proposition 3 in Michigan succeeds, it means the evisceration of parental rights; it would invalidate state law and allow minors to get an abortion without the consent of one of their parents. It would also allow for abortion at any time of pregnancy and do away with all abortion regulations. Michigan bishops have branded it the “most extreme proposal” the nation has ever seen.

Vermont already has very liberal abortion laws. On the ballot is a provision, Proposal 5, that would ensure abortion-on-demand right up until the moment of birth. It wants to declare a state constitutional right to “personal reproductive autonomy.”

Do any of these laws matter? Absolutely. An analysis by the New York Times on October 31 found that there has been a 6% drop in abortions nationwide after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Thirteen states banned or severely restricted abortion; nine others added major restrictions. Some states witnessed an increase in abortion, as women seeking to terminate their pregnancy traveled from restrictive states to more liberal states.

Statistics can be cold. The 6% drop in abortions amounts to over 10,000 children who have been spared sudden death.

No state saw a more dramatic decline in abortions than Texas. Kudos to those men and women who stood up for the rights of the unborn. They are a role model for us all.