Despite opposition from Catholic conferences and bishops, major pro-abortion rights measures passed in three states within the midterm elections, and plenty of measures geared toward restricting abortion failed on the ballot box.
Voters in California, Michigan and Vermont approved constitutional amendments that can protect abortion access of their states.
After the passage of California’s Proposition 1, the California Catholic Conference issued a statement calling the choice “devastating for ladies, children and families.”
“Prop. 1 doesn’t solve any of the underlying personal challenges that girls cite as reasons for selecting abortion—intimate partner violence, housing insecurity, inadequate access to healthcare, insufficient paid leave, childcare opportunities, or having nobody of their lives capable of accompany them through pregnancy and parenting,” the conference said.
Despite opposition from Catholic conferences and bishops, major pro-abortion rights measures passed in three states within the midterm elections.
Proposal 3, an amendment the Michigan Catholic Conference believes will add full-term abortion protections to the state structure, was approved by voters on Nov. 8. In an announcement on Nov. 9, Paul Long, the president and C.E.O. of the conference, called it “a tragic day for Michigan and for the reason for protecting and upholding the inherent dignity of all human life.”
Catholic leaders in Vermont haven’t yet commented on the success of a ballot measure that adds protection for “reproductive autonomy” to Vermont’s State Structure. But in the times leading as much as the election, Vermont Catholic, the magazine of the Diocese of Burlington, had urged voters against the amendment, arguing that its vague language wouldn’t only protect late-term abortions but may very well be prolonged to guard other procedures like human cloning and gender transitioning without parental permission.
A proposed amendment in Kentucky to make clear that the state structure didn’t include a right to abortion or public funding for the procedure was turned back on Tuesday. The Catholic Conference of Kentucky expressed disappointment but outlined its goals moving forward.
“We must proceed to insist on legal protection for unborn human life,” the conference said, “but we also stand able to work with all people of fine will to advance policies that support Kentuckians in vulnerable situations and that ensure access to health take care of all.”
After the passage of California’s Proposition 1, the California Catholic Conference issued an announcement calling the choice “devastating for ladies, children and families.”
Votes are still being counted, but a ballot measure in Montana, the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, can also be expected to fail. The proposed law would have required medical treatment for infants born alive during an abortion procedure. The Montana Catholic Conference, which supported its passage, has not officially commented on the outcomes.
The state’s Catholic conference issued an announcement in September saying the measure was “the epitome of commonsense laws” and was needed to “safeguard those infants who, through no fault of their very own, are born into a number of the most difficult and difficult circumstances possible.”
The bishops said the measure reiterated the same law passed by Congress in 2002 and would go a step further, noting that the previous law didn’t “provide specific measures for enforcing protection of those helpless infants and did not specify that a born-alive infant is entitled to medically appropriate care and treatment.”
Online reactions from other Catholics to the varied ballot measures have ranged from statements of disappointment to efforts to discern how the votes went against pro-life priorities.
“Abortion is now legal in Michigan at an unprecedented level, and hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake,” wrote Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron in a letter to Catholics posted on the archdiocesan website Nov. 9.
“Abortion is now legal in Michigan at an unprecedented level, and hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake,” wrote Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron in a letter to Catholics.
“We awake today to the news that Proposal 3 has passed, altering our state structure to permit for unregulated and unsafe abortion on demand in Michigan,” he wrote, saying that individuals of religion are “deeply saddened by this grave assault on the dignity and sanctity of unborn, innocent human life.”
The archbishop called the measure an “unjust and perverse law” and identified that within the last several months pro-life advocates within the state had “worked tirelessly to spread the reality about Proposal 3, imploring voters to make an informed decision on the ballot box.”
“I offer my deepfelt gratitude to all who prayed, spread awareness, voted and otherwise worked against this proposal,” he said, “and I share of their sorrow on the consequence.”
He asked Catholics to hitch him in prayer about this issue and to renew their “commitment to accompanying women and families in need, with greater resolve than ever,” pledging to “ proceed our efforts to construct a culture of life by which abortion is unthinkable, all families receive the support they need, and the dignity of all people is recognized.”
From the pro-choice side, after the outcomes of varied ballot measures protecting abortion access got here in, Catholics for Alternative tweeted, “Abortion access is popular, pass it on!”
Patrick T. Brown, a fellow on the Ethics and Public Policy Center, tweeted: “In case you’re pro-life, last night’s results should be a wake-up call. Simply attempting to restrict abortion shouldn’t be going to win on the ballot box.”
Material from Catholic News Service was utilized in this report.
