PRO-CHOICE VICTORIES IN 2006
Americans show their pro-choice values
On Tuesday November 7th, Americans reaffirmed their commitment to the values of freedom, privacy, and personal responsibility by electing pro-choice candidates and defeating anti-choice ballot measures in races across the country.
As the nation’s largest nonpartisan pro-choice political organization, NARAL Pro-Choice America capitalized on the public’s call for change with a comprehensive $2.5 million political program, which included independent expenditures in congressional races, direct contributions to candidates, and contributions to the efforts to defeat anti-choice ballot measures. We activated a network of more than one million member activists who did phone banking and went door-to-door on behalf of endorsed candidates and ballot initiatives.
NARAL Pro-Choice America: Increase in pro-choice members of Congress
We gained at least 20 pro-choice seats in the House and had wins in the Senate.
We are still waiting for the outcome in especially close races, but these gains show that voters are tired of divisive attacks on a woman’s right to choose and oppose allowing politicians to interfere in our personal, private decision making.
Rep. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Claire McCaskill (Missouri) defeated anti-choice incumbent senators.
In Pennsylvania’s 7th District, retired Admiral Joe Sestak defeated 10-term anti-choice incumbent Curt Weldon.
In Iowa’s 1st District, Bruce Braley won an open seat being vacated by retiring anti-choice Rep. Jim Nussle, who lost a gubernatorial race to pro-choice Chet Culver.
In Arizona’s 5th District, Harry Mitchell defeated anti-choice incumbent J.D. Hayworth, who first won election to Congress in 1994.
Public rejects anti-choice ballot measures
South Dakota
This victory belongs to the people of South Dakota who fought back against this political intrusion into personal, private decisions.
This is a wake-up call to lawmakers in other states that America’s pro-choice majority will not allow an assault on Roe v. Wade to go unanswered.
South Dakotans reaffirmed that the right to choose should be between a woman, her doctor, her family, and her God—not politicians. This result is a triumph for the fundamental values of freedom and privacy over divisive attacks against a woman’s right to choose.
As the leader of NARAL Pro-Choice South Dakota said, now is the time for the same South Dakotans—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents—who defeated this ban to call on legislators and the governor to end these attacks and unify behind commonsense ways to prevent unintended pregnancy and reduce the need for abortion, without threatening women’s health or jeopardizing access to safe, legal abortion.
California/Oregon
California and Oregon have always been pro-choice states and the defeat of these anti-choice ballot measures demonstrate that the voters saw through these deceptive and dangerous measures.
Voters in both states voted against mandated parental-involvement measures (California rejected this divisive measures for the second time in two years.) These victories show that voters support good family communication, but saw that these measures would threaten our most vulnerable young women.
The California campaign stressed that the real answer to preventing teen pregnancy is strong caring families and comprehensive sex education that includes abstinence and birth control—not laws that delay teens’ access to counseling and medical care.
