Thursday, November 9, 2006
NAF Communications Department
202-667-5881
press@prochoice.org
Washington, DC – Tuesday's election was a victory for reproductive freedom and for women throughout the country. Voters elected pro-choice candidates and rejected dangerous ballot initiatives that would have banned or restricted abortion access.
"This is a great day for women and our nation as a whole," National Abortion Federation (NAF) President and CEO Vicki Saporta said. "The election results reflect the reality that a majority of Americans support access to comprehensive reproductive health care."
Candidates supportive of reproductive freedom were elected to the House of Representatives, the Senate, governorships, and state legislatures.
Voters in South Dakota, California, and Oregon decisively defeated anti-choice ballot initiatives.
In South Dakota, voters by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent rejected the most restrictive abortion ban in the nation. This dangerous ban would have outlawed safe abortion procedures at all stages of pregnancy with only a limited exception for the life of the woman.
"The voters of South Dakota have made it clear that they will not tolerate an abortion ban that would endanger the lives and health of women," Saporta said.
Voters in California and Oregon rejected ballot measures which would have required parental notification at least 48 hours before a minor could obtain an abortion. Both states have defeated similar notification laws in the past. A parental notification provision was on the California ballot last year, while Oregon voters rejected such an initiative in 1990.
"California and Oregon voters again recognized that parental notification laws endanger the health and safety of teens," Saporta said.
###
The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers in the United States and Canada. Our mission is to ensure safe, legal, and accessible abortion care to promote health and justice for women. Our members include health care professionals at clinics, doctors' offices, and hospitals, who together care for more than half the women in both countries who choose abortion each year. For more information, visit our website at www.prochoice.org
|
