Oct. 10, 2022 | – The 2022 midterm elections in the U.S. are shaping up to be the most important elections on the bioethical issues concerning the dignity of human life in living memory, specifically preborn life.
This is hardly surprising, given the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year to reverse Roe v. Wade. So long as Roe was the law of the land, individual states were severely hampered in what laws they could pass to restrict abortion. With Roe cleared out of the way, states are now free to pass all sorts of laws protecting preborn life.
Naturally, this has galvanized people on both sides of the issue. Pro-life politicians and citizens are jumping at the opportunity to pass laws protecting more preborn children from the violence of abortion. However, on the flipside pro-abortion strategists are seeking every available opportunity to tighten, or expand, pro-abortion laws in liberal states, particularly in light of a recent report that sixty-six abortion facilities have ceased performing abortions since Roe was reversed.
As the New York Times put it in a recent analysis, with Roe gone “every election has implications for [abortion] access.” That same analysis notes that voters in at least seven states are set to vote on ballot initiatives or in governor or legislative races that could have massive implications for abortion.
Important Initiatives and Races
In several states, voters will have the opportunity to vote on critical ballot initiatives, some pro-abortion and some pro-life.
In California, Michigan, and Vermont, voters will be asked on whether to place the “right” to abortion, on demand, into the state constitutions.
In California, voters will vote on Proposition 1, a profoundly destructive constitutional amendment that would prohibit state legislators from passing any pro-life legislation. As the state’s official summary reads, Proposition 1 would amend the state constitution, “to expressly include an individual’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which includes the fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and the fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.”
In summarizing the arguments against Proposition 1, the state’s voter guide website states, “Proposition 1 is an extreme law that allows late-term abortions at taxpayer expense up to the moment of birth—even if the baby is healthy and the mother’s health is not threatened. Current California law already guarantees a woman’s right to choose, making this extreme and costly proposal unnecessary.”
This is a breathtakingly extreme amendment that would make it impossible for California legislators to pass even the mildest abortion restrictions. If passed, Prop 1 would radically change health care policy by giving even more power to politicians. It poses an existential threat to untold thousands of preborn children every year.
The California Conference of Bishops, since day one, have been very vocal in their opposition to Proposition 1:
[The Conference] vehemently opposes Proposition 1 (SCA 10), which looks to enshrine the most extreme forms of abortion into the California Constitution. We believe in protecting life at every age in every stage.… Enshrining this amendment’s language into the constitution will extend the danger of coercive abortion to babies with unquestioned viability.
In response to this grave threat, the bishops are calling upon the state’s 12 million Catholics “to work to raise awareness and vigorous opposition.” Prop 1 must be defeated!
Certainly, the stakes this November couldn’t be higher. Pro-abortion Democrats and advocates for abortion are hoping to win enough seats on both state and federal levels to enshrine abortion “rights” into law, and to stop pro-life state legislatures from passing pro-life laws, or from allowing those laws to go into effect. It is critical that Catholics and committed pro-life Americans show up to the polls and volunteer their time to get out the vote for pro-life initiatives and candidates.
Lives depend on it!
