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Politics

Voters reshape culture wars with shots at conservative agenda

Bans on abortions, stem cell research and same-sex marriage rejected.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 9, 2006

From the country's heartland, voters sent messages that altered America's culture wars and dismayed religious conservatives - defeating an abortion ban in South Dakota, endorsing stem cell research in Missouri, and, in a national first, rejecting a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona.

Conservative leaders said they were jolted by the setbacks and looked for an explanation Wednesday.

The verdict on abortion rights was particularly clear. Oregon and California voters defeated measures that would have required parents to be notified before a girl younger than 18 could get an abortion, and South Dakotans - by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent - rejected a new state law that would have banned all abortions except to save a pregnant woman's life.

"This was really a rebellion in the heart of red-state, pro-life America - the heart of the northern Bible Belt," said Sarah Stoesz, head of the Planned Parenthood chapter that oversees South Dakota. "It sends a very strong message to the rest of the country."

South Dakota legislators had passed the law in expectation it would trigger a court challenge and lead to a possible Supreme Court reversal of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

Abortion-rights leaders said Wednesday that such strategies should be abandoned.

Anti-abortion leaders said the GOP shared some of the blame for the defeat.

The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, said President Bush and other top Republicans failed to campaign strongly for the South Dakota abortion ban and against the Missouri stem cell measure.

"While South Dakotans fought valiantly to defend their babies, we once again witnessed an almost total lack of support from the national leadership," Euteneuer said.

The antiabortion group Operation Rescue said the election results meant any legislation from Congress restricting abortion would be "virtually impossible" for the next two years.

"America has voted and the bloody results have placed the most vulnerable among us, the pre-born, in the crosshairs for continued extermination," said Operation Rescue president Troy Newman.

In Arizona, the defeat of the gay marriage ban stemmed in part from its scope.

It not only would have reinforced an existing state law against same-sex marriage, but also would have barred any government entities from recognizing civil unions or domestic partnerships in providing benefits to employees.

"We knew all along that once voters were informed about the true impact ... they would oppose this hurtful initiative," said Steve May of Arizona Together, which opposed the measure.

Gay rights activists said the election results would likely shelve any serious push for a federal ban-gay-marriage amendment.

[Last modified November 9, 2006, 01:32:20]