Oregon Pro-Life Advocates Regroup After Abortion Notification Defeat

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 20, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Oregon Pro-Life Advocates Regroup After Abortion Notification Defeat Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 20
, 2006

Salem, OR (LifeNews.com) — After voters handed a parental notification measure a defeat at the ballot box earlier this month, pro-life advocates in Oregon are having to look to other ways of lowering the number of abortions in their state. The leading pro-life group says it will focus on education and look to the 2008 elections to regain seats they lost this election.

While Oregon is one of the more pro-abortion states in the nation, pro-life groups hoped voters there would be more receptive to a sensible limit such as parental notification.

Polls nationwide show that anywhere from 60-80 percent of voters support parents knowing about a teenager’s possible abortion.

However, Oregonians voted against the proposal by a 54-46 percentage margin after abortion business Planned Parenthood outspent pro-life advocates 3-1 and flooded the airwaves with a misleading television commercial.

But, don’t expect Oregon Right to Life, the leading group behind the parental notification measure, to give up the fight.

Gail Atteberry, the executive director of the group, told the Associated Press that her group will consider another possible ballot measure, such as one requiring abortion facilities to provide women with information on abortion’s risks and alternatives.

The group will also focus on its "hearts and minds" campaign — efforts to educate state residents about abortion. Oregon Right to Life will also prepare now for the 2008 elections with the hope of regaining some of the seats they lost earlier this month.

Atteberry said the group remains focused on achieving results long-term and not letting temporary setbacks get them down.

Atteberry told AP, "This is one election, one legislative session when you get a bigger perspective on it, focusing for the future is not a bad thing."

Thanks to efforts from Oregon Right to Life, abortions in Oregon are down to their lowest levels since 1998, having decreased 20 percent between then and 2004, the latest year from which state data is available.

The Oregon Department of Human Services reported 14,344 abortions in 1998, but that number decreased to 11,443 abortions in 2004.

Related web sites:
Oregon Right to Life – https://www.ortl.org