In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that returned the question of abortion limits back to the states, unofficial election results in five states show voters opted to codify abortion as a constitutional right, defend expanded access to abortion, and deny lifesaving care to infants born alive despite an abortion attempt.
More than 133,000 Vermont voters – about 72 percent – appear to have supported a ballot measure that made the state the first to enshrine abortion in its constitution. Nearly 42,000 voters, or about 22 percent, voted against the measure, while 9,000, or about 5 percent, left the ballot question blank, The Hill reported.
The Green Mountain State’s Proposal 5 creates a constitutional right to “personal reproductive autonomy.”
Although abortion has been legal in Vermont, the approval of the ballot measure enshrines reproductive rights in the state constitution and blocks the state legislature from restricting abortion in the future.
Michigan voters reportedly re-elected their Democrat pro-abortion governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and passed Proposal 3, a ballot measure that affirms a woman’s right to decide “about all matters relating to pregnancy.”
Huge congratulations to @govwhitmer! She has secured re-election as Michigan Governor! We are so thankful that she will continue to lead Michigan forward into a state we can be proud of where every Michigander has access to the reproductive health care they need and deserve! pic.twitter.com/hX0r3maNm8
— Michigan Planned Parenthood Advocates (@mippadvocates) November 9, 2022
Following the release of the Dobbs decision, Whitmer and her allies at Planned Parenthood had primarily been marketing Prop 3 as an abortion amendment that would codify Roe v. Wade, but the measure also allows children to obtain “gender affirming” hormones and surgeries without parental consent under the banner of “reproductive care.”
Prop 3, however, goes far beyond simply codifying Roe and Casey. The constitutional amendment will now establish in Michigan an abortion-on-demand environment in which elective abortions can now take place at any time during pregnancy, for any reason, and paid for with taxpayer funding. For minors, the amendment will allow abortions at any time without parental consent.
Horrific.
Michigan Proposal 3 which allows abortion up until the moment of birth has been approved.
There's going to be lots of buyer's remorse in Michigan once voters realize what they've done.
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) November 9, 2022
California voters approved Proposition 1, introduced by Governor Gavin Newsom (D), which enshrines abortion and contraceptive rights in the state constitution. Prop 1 allows for abortions at any time during pregnancy, for any reason, and all paid for by taxpayers.
Two states’ attempts to protect unborn babies appear to have been voted down.
Kentucky’s Amendment 2 would have amended the state constitution to say the state does not “secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
The measure was defeated, 53 percent against to 47 percent in favor, with 86 percent of the votes counted as of Wednesday morning, reported Kentucky Kernel.
Since the amendment was defeated, anti-life activists will continue to battle in the state’s supreme court for legalization of abortion.
Montana voters appear to have rejected a measure that would have required abortionists to provide life-saving care to an infant who survives abortion.
Montana Legislative Referendum 131 stated any abortion provider who does not give life-saving care to an infant born alive in an abortion would be charged with a felony and face criminal penalties, including up to 20 years in prison and/or up to a $50,000 fine.
Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins said in comments following apparent results on the five states’ ballot measures that such initiatives are a “risky tool.”
“In this round, the abortion lobby ran a fear-based, financially rich campaign against American women, underscoring 50 years of misogyny-based messages,” she said. “The abortion industry sells women short, and then they sell them an abortion.”
Democrats ran a fear-based campaign pushing abortion and outspending us…but what's in it? What are they selling us? There's no national abortion reporting law.
My op-ed today: https://t.co/hVKFIDCUyP
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) November 9, 2022
Hawkins added the ballot initiatives now underscore the need for a national abortion reporting law.
“President Biden and his allies are all in on more abortion, but what are you getting exactly when you buy one?” she asked. “We don’t track abortion outcomes in the U.S. Planned Parenthood and company asks us to trust, but never verifies, what happens to women after the abrupt and deliberate end to a preborn baby’s life.”
“Given the Democrat Party’s obsession with more abortion, and these newly passed, pro-abortion ballot initiatives, a bi-partisan, federal response is a National Abortion Reporting law that holds Corporate Abortion accountable for the product they so aggressively sell,” Hawkins asserted.
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
