“Through a deceptive and opaque crusade, the Yes on Proposition 1 campaign refused to acknowledge the deadly nature of their amendment. Doctors will now be able to snuff out the lives of precious unborn children up until the moment of birth.”
Keller said, “But our hope does not rest on what happens in Sacramento or Washington, D.C. No matter the final results of Tuesday’s election, California Family Council will continue” its mission, he said. “We have a long road ahead. The journey begins today.”
Michigan’s voters decided to add a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” which includes abortion, to the state’s constitution by 56-44 percent with 89 percent of votes reported. The amendment allows the state to restrict abortion after the preborn child is viable, although it cannot ban the procedure if it is “medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health” of the mother.
The amendment nullifies any state law in conflict with it, including a 1931 measure now in the courts that prohibits nearly all abortions.
By a 77-23 percent margin with an estimated 95 percent of votes in, Vermont passed Proposal 5, which protects abortion access by inserting in the state constitution a “right to personal reproductive autonomy.” That right, which includes abortion, can only be thwarted if the state has a compelling interest that can be accomplished “by the least restrictive means.”
In Montana, the total was 52-48 percent against the Born-alive Infant Protection Act with an estimated 82 percent of votes reported. If approved, the measure would require a health-care provider to “take all medically appropriate and reasonable actions to preserve the life and health” of a child born alive, including one who survives an abortion.
While pro-lifers lost at the polls Tuesday, prohibitions on abortion have taken effect in 15 states since the Supreme Court reversed Roe. It is anticipated about half of the 50 states will enact laws that prohibit abortion either throughout pregnancy or at a stage of pregnancy, although courts have blocked the enforcement of some for now.
Since Roe’s reversal, “[t]otal/near total limits on abortion” have gone into effect in 14 states, according to the latest information from Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-life America. In addition, Florida has a ban in effect on abortion beginning at 15 weeks’ gestation.
“Total/near total” restrictions on abortion in eight states await a final ruling in the courts, SBA Pro-life America reported. A similar prohibition will soon take effect in Iowa, according to the organization.
The states with complete or nearly complete bans on abortion, according to SBA Pro-life America, are: Alabama; Arkansas; Georgia; Idaho; Kentucky; Louisiana; Mississippi; Missouri; Oklahoma; South Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; West Virginia; and Wisconsin.
Nine days before the Supreme Court’s ruling, messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention continued a more-than-four-decade-old pattern of pro-life resolutions by urging the justices to overturn Roe and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision that affirmed it. The resolution also urged state legislators to pass “pro-life policies that uphold the dignity and value of every human life, including both vulnerable women and children.”
This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.
