OPINION | Defeat of Ballot Measures Affirms That U.S. 'Values' Women's Health, NYT Editorial Says
[Nov. 10, 2008]

Voters did the "right thing" by defeating "dangerous" antiabortion ballot measures in three states on election day, a New York Times editorial says. In Colorado, voters rejected Amendment 48 -- a "wild initiative" that would have extended legal rights to fertilized eggs and "threatened to ban widely used forms of contraception, curtail medical research involving embryos, shutter fertility clinics and criminalize necessary medical care," the editorial says. Voters also defeated a "sweeping abortion ban" in South Dakota -- Initiated Measure 11 -- as well as Proposition 4 in California, which would have mandated parental notification.

However, the defeat of these ballot measures does not mean that "supporters of reproductive rights can now breathe easy," according to the editorial. It adds that there is "no doubt the future of Roe v. Wade will continue to be slugged out in the courts, state legislatures and in Congress." The editorial concludes, "Yet, along with the election of a new president and at least five new senators supportive of reproductive rights, the fate of the three ballot initiatives is a powerful affirmation that this remains a nation that values women's privacy and health" (New York Times, 11/9).





The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

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