Several abortion initiatives were on state ballots for the Nov. 5 election, and by a narrow margin, voters in two Midwest states, Nebraska and South Dakota, chose the pro-life options.
The Nebraska ballot had two competing questions.
Voters defeated a plan to enshrine the right to kill an unborn baby into the state constitution. The proposal, Nebraska Initiative 439, was opposed by 51 percent of voters, while 49 percent supported it. The initiative called for an amendment to the Nebraska Constitution giving “all persons,” not just women, “a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient, without interference from the state or its political subdivisions.”
The language of the measure did grammar gymnastics to avoid using the words “women” or “mother,” or “baby.”
The amendment defined “fetal viability” as the point in pregnancy when a doctor says the child could survive “outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.”
While that was struck down, a life-affirming measure passed with 55 percent of the vote. Nebraska Initiative 434, the Prohibit Abortions After the First Trimester Amendment, amends the state constitution to say, “unborn children shall be protected from abortion in the second and third trimesters” except in cases of medical emergencies or pregnancies resulting from sexual assault or incest.
“Thanks to leadership from Sen. Pete Ricketts, Gov. Jim Pillen and GOP leaders, abortion industry lies were challenged and the radical implications of Initiative 439 were exposed while a reasonable alternative was advanced,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement.
In South Dakota, Amendment G attempted to enshrine a right to abortion into the state constitution. Roughly 60 percent of voters voted against the measure. The plan would have allowed for abortions through birth, with certain restrictions. In the first trimester, there would be no restrictions. In the second trimester, regulations of abortion decisions would be allowed. In the third trimester, abortion would be regulated or prohibited except when medically necessary to save the life of the mother.
The pro-abortion people have attempted to make abortion an undisputed right through state constitutional amendments in numerous states.
“The demise of pro-abortion Amendment G is an enormous victory for life,” Dannenfelser said. “When we wake up tomorrow, unborn children will still be protected in the great state of South Dakota thanks to leadership from Sen. John Thune, Rep. Dusty Johnson and Gov. Kristi Noem. Precious boys and girls will live as a result of this vote, and the state will be immensely better off as they grow to fulfill their God-given purposes.”
“South Dakota is a beacon for how the pro-life movement can win future ballot measure fights. When the pro-life leaders speak up and expose the lies of the abortion industry, life wins.”
Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.
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