Oregon Archbishop Asks Voters to Vote for Measure 106 to Stop Taxpayer-Funded Abortions

State   |   Christina Vazquez   |   Oct 29, 2018   |   4:44PM   |   Salem, OR

Catholic Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon released a letter this month exhorting voters to vote in defense of life.

In an Archdiocese of Portland press release on Oct. 10, the archbishop asked citizens to vote for Measure 106, the Stop Taxpayer Funding for Abortion measure.

Measure 106 will ask Oregon voters if they want to amend the state constitution with the following language: “The state shall not spend public funds for any abortion, except when medically necessary or as may be required by federal law.” Abortions because of rape, incest and threats to the mother’s life still would be paid for by tax dollars.

“Through the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon taxpayers fund ten abortions every day. It is heartbreaking to know that our public taxes are used in a way that not only results in the death of a child in the womb, but also harms women and families,” the archbishop wrote.

Sample’s letter continues by explaining the importance of Measure 106:

In the case of abortion, the Church understands the difficult choice a woman may face if she has an unplanned pregnancy. Abortion can seem like an easy solution, but ending the life of a newly conceived child is a costly choice. Every child is a precious gift. In addition to killing a child in the womb, abortion causes devastating emotional, spiritual and physical harm to women, children and families.

Our public tax dollars should be used to truly support women and families in need and not to pay for the irreversible and harmful effects of abortion. Oregonians should no longer be forced to pay for elective, late-term and even sex-selective abortions. Please vote Yes on Measure 106.

We know that the majority of Americans oppose using taxpayer money for elective abortions. In fact, thirty-two states and the District of Columbia already prohibit the use of public funds for abortion. Oregon can join them by voting YES on Measure 106.

Polls consistently show that most Americans do not want their tax dollars to pay for abortions. A 2016 Marist poll found that two-thirds of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortions, including a majority of women and people who identify as pro-choice.

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In October 2016, a Politico/Harvard University poll also found that just 36 percent of likely voters support taxpayer funding for abortions, while 58 percent oppose it.

There is some pro-abortion backlash against Measure 106, however. In August, a Portland ice cream shop partnered with radical pro-abortion group NARAL to sell a new ice cream flavor, “Rocky Roe v. Wade.” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown also voiced her opposition to the measure, and Planned Parenthood has vocalized that it wants to keep forcing taxpayers to fund abortions.

However, the movement to enact Measure 106 shows that Oregonians are fighting for the right to life.

The elections on Nov. 6 have the power to make real change in defense of life.