Losses jolt the religious right
Voters defend abortion rights, stem-cell research
Columbus Dispatch
Thursday, November 09, 2006
David Crary
ASSOCIATED PRESS From the country’s heartland, voters sent messages that altered America’s culture wars and dismayed the religious right — defending abortion rights in South Dakota, endorsing stemcell research in Missouri, and rejecting a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona. The verdict on abortion rights was particularly clear. Oregon and California voters defeated measures that would have required parents to be notified before a girl younger than 18 could get an abortion, and South Dakotans — by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent — rejected a new state law that would have banned all abortions except to save a pregnant woman’s life. "This was really a rebellion in the heart of red-state, pro-life America — the heart of the northern Bible Belt," said Sarah Stoesz, head of the Planned Parenthood chapter that oversees South Dakota. South Dakota legislators hoped the law would trigger a court challenge and lead to a possible Supreme Court reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Anti-abortion leaders said the GOP shared some of the blame for the defeat. The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, said President Bush and other top Republicans failed to campaign strongly for the South Dakota abortion ban and against the Missouri stem-cell measure. "While South Dakotans fought valiantly to defend their babies, we once again witnessed an almost total lack of support from the national leadership," Euteneuer said. In Missouri, anti-abortion groups, evangelical Christian clergy and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis campaigned hard against the stemcell measure, contending it would condone life-destroying embryonic research. Debbie Forck, a Catholic from Jefferson City, Mo., was among those voting for the measure. "I’ve had several family members that have had debilitating illnesses," said Forck, 50. "It goes against my church, but to eliminate pain in my life, I thought it was worth it." Seven states approved gaymarriage bans, joining 20 that had done so previously. However, gay-rights supporters took heart at the relatively close results in some of the seven states, notably in South Dakota, where the ban received 52 percent of the vote. In Arizona, the defeat of the ban stemmed in part from its scope. It not only would have reinforced an existing state law against same-sex marriage, but it also would have barred any government entities from recognizing civil unions or domestic partnerships in providing benefits to employees. "We knew all along that once voters were informed about the true impact. ... they would oppose this hurtful initiative," said Steve May, of Arizona Together, which opposed the measure. Gay-rights leaders said the election results would likely shelve any serious push for a federal ban-gay-marriage amendment.
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