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March 2, 2007

Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report Summarizes Results Of Races In Which Women's Health Issues Played A Role

The Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report has been following news coverage of several U.S. Senate races, gubernatorial races and ballot issues in which women's health policy played roles. Results from Tuesday's elections appear below.

U.S. Senate

  • Florida: Sen. Bill Nelson (D) defeated Rep. Katherine Harris (R) by a 60% to 38% margin, with 99% of the precincts reporting, the Miami Herald reports (Caputo/Long, Miami Herald, 11/7). Harris in July in an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, said, "If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin," such as abortion rights. Harris in the interview also talked about limiting abortion rights except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the pregnant women is in danger; supporting abstinence-only sex education; and opposing human embryonic stem cell research (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/6).
  • Maryland: Rep. Ben Cardin (D) defeated state Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) by a 54% to 44% margin, with 91% of the precincts reporting, the Baltimore Examiner reports (Wyatt, Baltimore Examiner, 11/8). Cardin voted for a bill (HR 810) vetoed by President Bush that would have expanded stem cell lines eligible for federal funding and would allow funding for research using stem cells derived from embryos originally created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients. 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 human 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, 10/26).
  • Missouri: State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D) defeated Sen. Jim Talent (R) by a 49% to 47% margin, with 3,335 of the state's 3,746 precincts reporting, the Kansas City Star reports (Kraske et al., Kansas City Star, 11/8). McCaskill during a debate last month on NBC's "Meet the Press" said she would vote for a ban on so-called "partial-birth abortion," with an exception in cases to protect the life of the pregnant woman. McCaskill also said she supports parental notification and keeping abortion "safe, legal and rare in the early term," adding that the government should aim to reduce the number of abortions "instead of making health care more unavailable to poor women." Talent said he does not support abortion rights but supports exceptions in cases of rape, incest or to protect the pregnant woman's life (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/13). The two candidates also differed on human embryonic stem cell research-related issues during the campaign (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/3).
  • New York: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) defeated Republican candidate John Spencer by a 60% to 40% margin, with more than 90% of the precincts reporting, the New York Times reports (Healy, New York Times, 11/8). Rodham Clinton on her Web site has said she supports abortion rights as defined by Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court case that effectively barred state abortion bans -- and believes that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare." Spencer opposes abortion rights (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/13).
  • Pennsylvania: State Treasurer Bob Casey (D) defeated Sen. Rick Santorum (R) 60% to 40%, with 77% of the precincts reporting, the New York Times reports (DeParle, New York Times, 11/8). Casey, who supports access to emergency contraception -- which can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse -- has said he opposes abortion rights with exceptions for cases involving rape or incest or to save the life of the woman. He also has said lawmakers cannot be "pro-life" and cut funding for the Women, Infants and Children's Program, Medicaid or Head Start. Santorum has said he opposes EC access and abortion rights with exceptions for cases involving rape or incest or to save the life of the woman (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/18).
  • Tennessee: Former Chattanooga, Tenn., Mayor Bob Corker (R) defeated Rep. Harold Ford (D) by a 51% to 48% margin, with 2,300 of the 2,330 precincts reporting, the Tennessean reports (de la Cruz/Carey, Tennessean, 11/8). Ford co-sponsored legislation (HR 810) that would have expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Corker opposes federal funding for embryonic stem cell research (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/11). Corker also has said he would support a state abortion ban that allows exceptions for rape, incest and to save the pregnant woman's life (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/1).

Gubernatorial Races

  • Florida: State Attorney General Charlie Crist (R) led Rep. Jim Davis (D) by a 52% to 45% margin, with more than half of the precincts reporting, the AP/Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (Tanner, AP/Cleveland Plain Dealer, 11/8). Crist has said he would sign a bill into law that bans abortions with exceptions in cases of rape, incest or if the life of the woman is in danger but would not urge the state Legislature to implement one. Crist also has said that he does not support a proposal that the state should require a 24-hour waiting period before a physician can perform an abortion so women can receive counseling on alternatives to the procedure. Davis has said he strongly opposes banning abortion (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/6).
  • Illinois: Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) defeated state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka (R) by a 49% to 40% margin, with 77% of the precincts reporting, the Chicago Tribune reports (Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 11/7). Blagojevich in July 2005 signed an executive order that directed $10 million in state funding for stem cell research and established the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute to distribute grants for stem cell research in Illinois. The program allows research on human embryonic, adult and cord blood stem cell lines, but it will not fund research that involves human cloning, human tissue that was bought or sold for research, or tissue from aborted embryos or fetuses. Barr Topinka supports public funding for embryonic stem cell research but "believes it should be considered as part of an open budgeted process in the legislature," her spokesperson John McGovern has said (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/21).
  • Iowa: Secretary of State Chet Culver (D) defeated Rep. Jim Nussle (R) by a 54% to 44% margin, with about 72% of the precincts reporting, the Des Moines Register reports (Beaumont, Des Moines Register, 11/8). Nussle last year voted against a bill (HR 810) that would have expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and in July voted to sustain Bush's veto of the measure. Culver said he would call for the repeal of a 2002 state law that bans multiple forms of stem cell research and would call for the allocation of $10 million to create an Iowa Center for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics. Culver also has said he supports abortion rights and would veto any legislation seeking to place limitations on the procedure. Campaign staff for Nussle has said he would sign a bill banning abortion in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy if elected. Nussle said Iowa should approve a law requiring minors seeking abortion to obtain consent from their parents (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/6).
  • Maryland: Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) defeated Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) by a 50% to 49% margin, with 75% of the precincts reporting, the AP/Fox News reports (AP/Fox News, 11/8). O'Malley in July said he would call for an increase from $15 million to $25 million in annual state spending on stem cell research. Ehrlich in April signed into law a bill (SB 144) that will offer as much as $15 million in grants in 2007 to university-based and private researchers working with stem cells. The law establishes procedures for reviewing stem cell research projects, which could involve either embryonic or adult stem cells (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/25).
  • Massachusetts: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick defeated Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey (R) by a 56% to 35% margin, with more than 90% of the precincts reporting, the Boston Globe reports (Phillips, Boston Globe, 11/8). Patrick has said he supports abortion rights, stem cell research and "other issues important to women." Healey supports abortion rights and has said she backs a state law that requires girls under age 18 seeking abortions to obtain permission from a parent or guardian before undergoing the procedure. In addition, Healey has said she supports legislation vetoed by Gov. Mitt Romney (R) in May 2005 but overridden by the state Legislature that allows human cloning for research purposes but bans human cloning for the purpose of reproduction (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/16).
  • New York: State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D-N.Y.) defeated attorney John Faso (R) by a 70% to 29% margin, with more than 90% of the precincts reporting, the Times reports (New York Times, 11/8). Spitzer, who supports abortion rights, in a February speech expressed his support for "the right of a woman and her doctor to consider all necessary and appropriate options, including, as a last resort, late-term abortion when her life or health is at risk." Faso in 1987 said that the Roe decision is a "black mark upon this country" and has said he opposes abortion rights except in cases of incest or rape or when the woman's life is at risk. He also has said that if he were elected, he would limit coverage of abortions for Medicaid beneficiaries to those instances (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/13).
  • South Dakota: Gov. Mike Rounds (R) defeated Jack Billion by a 62% to 36% margin, with 95% of the precincts reporting, the Rapid City Journal reports (Harlan, Rapid City Journal, 11/8). Billion said he would not have signed the South Dakota law (HB 1215) -- which was defeated on Tuesday by state voters through a ballot initiative -- that would have banned abortion in the state except to save a pregnant woman's life. Rounds in March signed the abortion ban. During the campaign, Billion said more action should be taken to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies (Kaiser Women's Health Policy Report, 6/8).
  • Wisconsin: Gov. Jim Doyle (D) defeated Rep. Mark Green (R) by a 53% to 45% margin, the AP/Madison Capital Times reports (Bauer, AP/Madison Capital Times, 11/8). Doyle is a supporter of human embryonic stem cell research. Green voted against a bill (HR 810) that would have expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and has promised to sign a ban on therapeutic cloning. Green said he supports Bush's policy of limiting federal funding for studies using embryonic stem cell lines created on or before Aug. 9, 2001, and opposes the use of tax dollars for research that destroys embryos. He also has proposed a plan to finance $25 million over four years to develop a technique in which stem cells are obtained without destroying embryos (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/1).

Ballot Issues

  • California: Proposition 85, a statewide ballot measure that would have required doctors to notify parents or guardians before performing an abortion on a minor, was losing by a 53% to 47% margin, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports (Young, AP/San Jose Mercury News 11/8). The measure would have required 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. The initiative was similar to Proposition 73, which failed in November 2005, but it eliminated language that defines abortion as resulting in the "death of an unborn child, conceived but not yet born" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/31).
  • Missouri: State voters approved a measure that would amend the state constitution to ensure that stem cell research permitted under federal law is protected in the state and would prohibit human cloning, the AP/Columbia Missourian reports. About 51% of state voters supported the measure, with about 97% of the precincts reporting (Zagier, AP/Columbia Missourian, 11/8). The proposal, titled the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, would allow stem cell research that involves somatic cell nuclear transfer, which some consider a type of human cloning. Somatic cell nuclear transfer is conducted by inserting the genetic material from a patient's cell -- usually from a skin cell -- into an unfertilized egg from another person. The patient's genetic material incorporates into the egg and causes it to develop into an embryo that is a genetic match to the skin cell patient (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/3).
  • Oregon: State voters defeated a measure that would have required physicians to notify a parent or guardian at least 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor between ages 15 and 17, the AP/Salem Statesman Journal reports (Silverman, AP/Salem Statesman Journal, 11/8). The initiative -- called Measure 43, which was sponsored by Oregon Right to Life -- would have mandated civil penalties for physicians who refuse to comply with the notification requirement. The measure also would have exempted minors from the requirement if their life or health is at risk, and a judicial bypass would have been allowed in cases of potential abuse (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/12).
  • South Dakota: Voters on Tuesday rejected 55% to 45% a law (HB 1215) that would have banned all abortions in the state except to save a pregnant woman's life, the Los Angeles Times reports (Simon, Los Angeles Times, 11/8). The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, which opposed the law, successfully blocked the July 1 enactment of the law by gathering enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/7). The law, signed by Gov. Mike Rounds (R) in March, would not have punished a woman who undergoes an abortion, but it would have made it a felony to perform one. Physicians convicted of performing the procedure would have faced a minimum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Physicians who saved the life of a woman by performing an abortion would not be charged with a crime under the law as long as they had made "reasonable medical efforts" to "preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/7).


"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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