Michigan Antiabortion Advocates Vow To Fight On Despite Election Day Losses In State

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 17 Nov 2008 - 7:00 PST

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Despite Michigan voters' approval of Proposal 2 -- which will allow surplus embryos created for fertility treatments to be donated for use in stem cell research -- and the election of many candidates who support abortion rights, neither the Michigan Catholic Conference nor Right to Life of Michigan was "willing to say they had suffered irreversible setbacks," the Detroit News reports. According to the News, both "longtime powerhouse cultural warriors" in Michigan politics contributed millions of dollars and campaigned "feverishly" for the ballot proposal and antiabortion candidates. While some observers say the election results "underscore a change in attitude among Michigan's electorate," others say that "the horrible economy, an unpopular sitting president and an all-around bad year for Republicans was more to blame and that it was a fluke that won't be repeated next election."

Exit polls conducted by the News found that 56% of voters who identified themselves as Catholic supported Prop. 2; the measure passed overall by a 53% to 47% margin. In addition, voters last week elected nine more Democrats to the state House, giving the party a 67-43 majority. According to the News, since its establishment 25 years ago, Right to Life has "helped assemble solid antiabortion majorities" in both chambers of the state Legislature and, prior to this election, "made certain that no Republican supporting abortion rights has won a statewide office since the 1978 victory of then-Gov. William Milliken." This year, the group had endorsed eight of the losing state House candidates and had made no endorsement in the ninth race, the News reports. Other Right to Life-backed candidates also were defeated at the polls, including congressional candidates and a state Supreme Court candidate.

The News also reports that Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan contributed at least $4,000 to the campaigns of five of the nine Democrats who won seats previously held by Republicans. Planned Parenthood's political action committee raised about $200,000 this year, compared with less than $77,000 two years ago, and received $75,000 from billionaire philanthropist Jon Stryker and $63,000 from the Michigan Democratic Party.

Ed Rivet, legislative director of Right to Life of Michigan, said that last week's election results do not mean that voters are rejecting the antiabortion position, adding that "it doesn't diminish the underlying strength of the pro-life conviction in our state. ... We're not going away." Rivet said that the 38 members of the state Senate who were not up for election this year include 25 abortion-rights opponents and that the 110-member state House that will convene in January still has at least 60 members who oppose abortion rights. Paul Long, vice president of public policy for the Michigan Catholic Conference said, "While losing is not easy, the work of the conference is broader than Proposal 2, and the church will continue to be a strong advocate on issues it believes in" (Cain, Detroit News, 11/13).

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