Abortion Ban: Voters in South Dakota defeated (with 56 percent in opposition) a ballot measure that would have banned nearly all abortions in that state. The ban was a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

"As women who have been hurt by abortion, we are disappointed that the voters of South Dakota were misled by the rhetoric involving the rape and incest provision in the law and failed to support the South Dakota ban on abortion," said Caron Strong, the National Director of Operation Outcry. "We know from our own abortion experience that women need help in vulnerable pregnancies, not the empty promise of a quick fix that ultimately brings deep grief and suffering, as well as detrimental physical effects."

Apart from opposition from abortion activists, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) had also opposed the legislation saying that it was not a "timely" move for the pro-life movement.

Judie Brown, head of American Life League, speculated in an editorial on November 8, that had not the influential group opposed the law before it was passed, it might have survived the plebiscite. She also criticized the lack of support from the White House and President Bush.

For more commentary click here.

Cloning/Stem Cell Research: Missouri voters narrowly approved (51-49 percent) a ballot measure guaranteeing that all federally-approved stem cell research be allowed in the state.

C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D., Director of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity (CBHD) said of the passage of the amendment: "This is no triumph for science, it is a victory for dishonesty and confusion—a new Tower of Babel—where words have no meaning."

The CBHD, in a press release, reiterated that "while Amendment 2 . . . claims to ban human cloning, it actually provides constitutional protection for human cloning, banning only the gestation of a human clone and thus mandating the death of any human clones that are produced.

"Backers of Amendment 2 claimed this is not "cloning," but practically every scientific authority disagrees with them. Amendment 2 authorizes the creation of human embryos using the SCNT procedure—that is by cloning—in order to destroy them.

"Having recognized the dangers of exactly this kind of human cloning, Canada and a number of European countries have outlawed it. Now the citizens of Missouri have been tricked into protecting it constitutionally."

"Missouri voters have sown the wind and they will reap the whirlwind," says Mitchell. "You cannot sew the seeds of immorality into the Constitution of the state and not harvest a whirlwind of problems in the future."

Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, said "Women and their fertility will now be treated like a commodity that can be bought and sold on a whim, while subjecting women to a dangerous procedure [egg harvesting] that can cause irreparable harm and even death. . . Human life is a sacred gift that must always be respected no matter its stage of development."

Pro-life advocates expressed dismay and disappointment at the lack of support from key national leaders, including the White House, and are vowing to bring the fight to the 2008 election with a ballot measure.

Parental Notification Initiatives: Voters in California and Oregon rejected ballot measures to require parental notification before a minor undergoes an abortion. Both initiatives would have banned a minor’s abortion until 48 hours after a physician notified the parents or legal guardian. Under Oregon’s Measure 43, teenagers under 15 would have required parental consent for any surgical procedure. Thirty-five states currently require either parental notification or consent. In addition, studies have shown reductions in the abortion rate associated with implementation of such measures.

Kansas Voters Let Abortionist Avoid Criminal Investigation: Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline lost the Attorney General race 42 to 58 percent to Democrat Paul Morrison, a vehement supporter of abortion. In the past few years, Kline has garnered national attention and pro-life support for his investigation into local abortion clinics and their concealment of probable child rape cases and the performance of illegal late-term abortions.

Morrison has promised to drop all investigations into abortion clinic crimes. Wichita abortionist George Tiller reportedly pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into third party groups that aided Morrison.

Same-Sex "Marriage" Ban: Seven states (Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin) approved bans on same-sex "marriage." Arizona became the first to reject such a ban. Similar amendments had passed previously in all 20 states that considered them.