In California, the strong pro-abortion-rights constitutional amendment Proposition 1 was projected to win. As of Thursday evening, it had 65% of the vote, with more than 3.5 million individual votes in favor.
“While this is tremendously disappointing, and not the outcome we have been working toward and praying for, there is still much to be proud of and thankful for,” the California Catholic Conference said after the election.
“We have responded to our Gospel call to serve on behalf of the most vulnerable and to share the love of Christ Jesus,” they added, emphasizing that God “sees our work and recognizes our struggle.”
“For the core of our mission as Christians is to evangelize, spreading the Good News of Jesus to the world,” the conference said. “We build up the kingdom of God here in our midst, but our mindset is eternal, with hope for the world to come.”
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco in a Nov. 9 letter echoed the Catholic conference’s statement and thanked priests and lay Catholics who opposed the measure in word and deed.
“While the passing of Prop. 1 is devastating for women, children, and families in California, there are some positive developments,” he said. “By shining a bright light on the value of motherhood and the inherent dignity of the unborn child, our hard work helped to shift minds and hearts to the pro-life movement.”
Both Cordileone and the Catholic conference cited a survey from Rasmussen Reports and the California-based Capitol Research Institute, which found that the number of Californians who identify as pro-life increased by nearly 10% during the campaign. The number of self-identified pro-choice Californians dropped by 7 percentage points.
However, Cordileone noted that voters had approved an extremely permissive abortion law.
“It is bad enough at any time, but this amendment will allow abortion even up to the day a healthy mother can give birth to a healthy baby,” he said.
“While Prop. 1 will inevitably be challenged in the courts, we will continue to do our essential work of accompanying mothers in distress through lifesaving crisis pregnancy centers and our post-abortion healing ministries,” he said.
“As people of faith, we know that peace in the world begins with peace in the womb,” Cordileone added. “This spiritual battle will continue as we look ahead to the day when abortion will be unthinkable in every state in our nation.”
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In Vermont, Bishop Christopher Coyne of Burlington said the passage of the pro-abortion Article 22 was “deeply troubling and tragic,” though he said the state was among “the most pro-choice of states.” As of Thursday, 77% of voters had backed the measure to create a constitutional right to “reproductive autonomy.”
“As a result, no future laws or restrictions that protect the life of the child in the womb may be enacted by the legislature or government. This certainly does not bode well for the future,” he said, nonetheless encouraging Catholics to help build “a greater culture of life.”
In Montana, voters rejected Legislative Referendum 131, which aimed to provide state protections and medical care for babies who are born alive after attempted abortions. It is similar to the federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act of 2002. As of Thursday, the vote margin was 52.55% to 47.45%, about 21,000 votes.
The Montana Catholic Conference had backed the referendum. Bishop Michael Warfel of Great Falls-Billings, Bishop Austin Vetter of Helena, and Great Falls-Billings Coadjutor Bishop Jeffrey Fleming lamented the result.
The Catholic bishops said they were “saddened and disappointed” by the defeat of a proposal “which sought to legally protect the dignity of babies at the time of their birth.”
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