Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report Highlights Women's Health Policy Issues Related To 2006 Elections

The following highlights recent election-related news on women's health issues.

• California: Opponents and supporters of Proposition 85, a state ballot measure that would require physicians to notify a parent or guardian performing an abortion on a minor, are targeting Latino voters in the state, the Sacramento Bee reports (Hecht, Sacramento Bee, 10/23). The measure would require unmarried girls younger than age 18 to inform a parent or legal guardian of their intention to have an abortion 48 hours before undergoing the procedure (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/17). According to the Bee, although most Latinos are Democrats, they are "seen as a crucial vote because they are more likely to part with their party's abortion rights views." Some Latino parishes have held "Yes on 85" rallies and included Spanish-language fliers in support for the initiative in church bulletins. However, in an attempt to dissuade Latino voters from supporting the measure, a campaign called "Proteccion y Securidad" -- or "Protection and Security" -- is "canvass[ing]" Latino neighborhoods, saying that the initiative is a "misguided attempt to legislate family communication and could subject girls in abusive homes to additional harm," the Bee reports (Sacramento Bee, 10/23).
  


• Idaho: State Rep. Bill Sali (R), who is running for a U.S. House seat against former high-tech executive Larry Grant (D), in an interview last week said that women who undergo abortions are "at increased risk" of developing breast cancer, the Washington Post reports (Harden, Washington Post, 10/24). In February 2001, after several studies showed inconsistencies about a possible link between abortion and breast cancer, the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute and other medical groups concluded that having an abortion does not affect breast cancer risk (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/18/04). Celinda Lake, a Washington, D.C.-based Democratic pollster, said Sali's views on the issue have been some of the largest negatives for Sali in polls conducted for Grant. According to the Post, Sali has highlighted his opposition to abortion as the "signature" issue of his political career (Washington Post, 10/24). In a debate on Wednesday, Sali said that Grant called himself "pro-choice" during a nontelevised debate, the AP/Spokane Spokesman-Review reports. Grant at the debate said, "I don't know anyone who supports abortion. ... But I do believe government should get out of our lives" (Harlan Alderman, AP/Spokane Spokesman-Review, 10/25).
  


• Maryland: Actor and embryonic stem cell research advocate Michael J. Fox recently filmed an advertisement for Rep. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who is running for U.S. Senate against Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R), the Washington Post reports (Mosk, Washington Post, 10/24). Cardin voted for a bill (HR 810) vetoed by President Bush that would have expanded stem cell lines eligible for federal funding and allowed funding for research using stem cells derived from embryos originally created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients (Brown/Emery, Baltimore Sun, 10/24). Steele in February during a Baltimore Jewish Council board meeting described stem cell research as "the destruction of human life" and compared it to Nazi experimentation on Jewish people during the Holocaust. Steele later apologized for the statement and said that he supports embryonic stem cell research with "some moral compass to guide" it. He also said that he supports research conducted at NIH that allows scientists to extract cells "without destroying the embryo" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/13). In the ad, Fox says, "George Bush and Michael Steele would put limits on the most promising stem cell research," adding, "Cardin fully supports lifesaving stem cell research" (Baltimore Sun, 10/24). Steele campaign spokesperson Doug Haye said he considers the ad to be "in extremely poor taste" (Washington Post, 10/24). According to the Sun, Cardin is attempting to keep the "stem cell discussion ... going," and on Tuesday he took part in a discussion about the significance of embryonic stem cell research at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (Baltimore Sun, 10/24).
  
  CBS' "Evening News" on Wednesday reported on celebrity involvement in campaigns both supporting and opposing a Missouri measure that would amend the state constitution to ensure that stem cell research permitted under federal law is protected in the state and that would prohibit human cloning. According to CBS, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan and other local sports celebrities recently produced an ad with conservative groups in response to an ad from Fox supporting state Auditor Claire McCaskill (D) in the U.S. Senate race and opposing incumbent Sen. Jim Talent (R). The CBS segment includes comments from McCaskill (Bowers, "Evening News," CBS, 10/25). A transcript and video of the segment are available online.
  

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