NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY
Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information.
'Personhood' Amendment Defeated In A Landslide
Colorado won't become the first state to amend its constitution to give fertilized eggs the same rights as human beings, as voters soundly rejected Amendment 48. The so-called Personhood Amendment was failing by a 3-to-1 ratio, and co-author Kristi Burton laid a lot of the blame for its demise at the feet of high-profile officials with strong anti-abortion credentials that refused to endorse it. Burton pointed out that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer and Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams hurt the amendment’s chances when they “campaigned against this issue” publicly. “That proved to be insurmountable,” she said.
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2008/nov/05/personhood_amendment_defeated_landslide/
Colorado, S.Dakota Reject Abortion Ballot Measures
Voters in Colorado and South Dakota rejected ballot measures Tuesday that could have led to sweeping bans of abortion, and Washington became only the second state - after Oregon - to offer terminally ill people the option of physician-assisted suicide. For the abortion movement, it was a day of relief and celebration. The Colorado measure, which was defeated soundly, would have defined life as beginning at conception. Its opponents said it could lead to the outlawing of some types of birth control as well as abortion. The South Dakota measure would have banned abortions except in cases of rape, incest and serious health threat to the mother. A tougher version, without the rape and incest exceptions, lost in 2006. Anti-abortion activists thought the modifications would win approval, but the margin of defeat was similar, about 55 percent to 45 percent of the vote.
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1225877422231450.xml&coll=2
Abortion Ballot Measures Lose, Florida, Arizona Stop Sodomite 'Marriage'
U.S. voters firmly rejected two state proposals to limit abortion rights on Tuesday, undermining an attempt to force the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. But results of more than 150 state measures across the nation showed a more complex cultural map than the easy election of Democrat Barack Obama as president might indicate, according to preliminary results.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081105/us_nm/us_usa_election_initiatives_report_1
S.Dakota Abortion Ban Rejection Might Leave Supporters With Nowhere To Go
For the second election in a row, South Dakota voters rejected by a double-digit margin an attempt to ban abortion in the state. The margin for Initiated Measure 11- a proposed law to criminalize abortion unless done in cases of rape or pregnancy or to safe the life or health of a woman- was 55-45 with 736 of 799 precincts reported early Wednesday. That's slightly closer than the 56-44 margin that rejected a ban without exceptions in the 2006 election. Neither side in the fight, which also included an unsuccessful legislative effort in 2004, gave any indication that Tuesday's vote was the final word.
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20081105/NEWS/811050301/1001/rss01
Nebraska's 'Child Dumping' Swells to 27
Nebraska officials say a 15-year-old girl dropped off at a hospital is the 27th child left under Nebraska's unique safe-haven law. Children and family services division director Todd Landry said in a statement Tuesday that the girl was left at a hospital in Omaha by her legal guardian on Monday. Nebraska was the last state to enact a safe-haven law, which is intended to protect unwanted newborns from being abandoned.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081104/D94881BO0.html
