Alabama, Oregon, West Virginia Face Abortion Restriction Ballot Initiatives

Voters in Alabama, Oregon and West Virginia are facing specific questions about abortion restrictions on their ballots Tuesday.

Catherine Glenn Foster, president of Americans United for Life (AUL), said the pro-life ballot measures “all express the wave of opposition by a majority of Americans to abortion on demand and taxpayer funding for the destruction of human life,” reported the Global Dispatch.

If approved, a proposed constitutional amendment in Alabama would grant “fetal personhood” to unborn babies and “recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children.” A “yes” vote supports the assertion that no provisions of the state Constitution provides a right to an abortion or requires funding of abortions.

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“The real aim is to ban abortion, but that’s not what you see in the language,” said pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute senior state issues manager Elizabeth Nash, according to Roll Call. “This is just very broad. We have seen some split among conservatives over this.”

Oregon voters will decide on Measure 106, an initiative that would prohibit public funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger.

In August 2017, Democrat Gov. Kate Brown signed into law legislation – that Planned Parenthood assisted in writing – which required nearly all taxpayers to fund free abortions on demand for all women regardless of their ability to pay or their citizenship status.

Abortion rights political lobbying group NARAL hailed the legislation:

Oregon just EXPANDED abortion access, taking a firm stand against Trump’s extreme agenda: https://t.co/r9eeY2pikr pic.twitter.com/sIIQfLb8lf

— NARAL (@NARAL) August 17, 2017

However, Gayle Atteberry, executive director of Oregon Right to Life, said Brown solidified her relationship with the abortion industry by signing the bill into law.

“Oregon taxpayers already cover nearly 50 percent of all abortions in the state whether they like it or not,” Atteberry said, according to the Washington Times. “By making abortion free, this percentage will inevitably increase. We also expect more late-term abortions, which are currently very expensive as well as risky to perform. All completely covered by either insurance companies or by the Oregon taxpayers.”

Measure 106 media communications manager Nichole Bentz said the ballot initiative is popular with both pro-life and pro-abortion rights voters.

“Both pro-choice and pro-life voters don’t want their money to be used to fund other people’s personal choices; we believe this can pass — even in a state like Oregon,” Bentz said, reports Roll Call.

In West Virginia, voters will decide on a constitutional amendment to stop state funding of abortion.

Supporters of the amendment say:

Over the years, WV taxpayers have paid nearly $10,000,000 for approximately 35,000 abortions. In recent years, the payments have increased along with the increase in Medicaid recipients due to ObamaCare. This year, the WV Legislature passed a proposed constitutional amendment, which will be on the ballot at the November election. You and all your friends and relatives must vote “Yes on Amendment 1.” This amendment says: “Nothing in this constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.” The purpose of Amendment 1 is to prevent our state constitution from allowing for abortion and to return to the state legislature its appropriate responsibility for control over the funding of abortion.

Democrat U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s claim he is “pro-life,” but will still vote against the amendment has drawn the ire of pro-life groups and placed his re-election bid in jeopardy against pro-life GOP candidate Patrick Morrissey.

In the U.S. Senate, Manchin has voted to continue taxpayer funding to abortion business Planned Parenthood. He has also posed with both pro-life and pro-abortion rights advocates.

“Joe Manchin tells West Virginians he’s pro-life but has voted repeatedly to send taxpayer dollars to the nation’s largest abortion chain, Planned Parenthood,” said Susan B. Anthony List spokeswoman Mallory Quigley. “Not only has Planned Parenthood cornered the market on abortion in the U.S. – accounting for a third of all abortions nationally – their top executives were caught on tape by Center for Medical Progress discussing their involvement in the grotesque and grisly baby body parts trade.”

AUL’s Foster echoed that voters are responding to witnessing years of scandals in the abortion industry.

“In the wake of revelations of the millions of taxpayer dollars Planned Parenthood affiliates have squandered in waste, abuse, and potential fraud,” she said, “it simply makes sense for taxpayers to put the brakes on this gravy train and insist that public healthcare dollars be spent where they’re needed most – for preventive, whole-woman care that isn’t available at ‘reproductive health clinics.’”