Religious right a big loser on ballot measures [View All]

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/130342,cst-nws-ballot09.article

Abortion, stem cell votes send 'strong message'

November 9, 2006
BY DAVID CRARY

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

Conservative leaders were jolted by the setbacks and looked for an explanation Wednesday. Gay-rights and abortion-rights activists celebrated.

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 under 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.''