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

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

• Missouri: State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D), who is running for U.S. Senate, during a debate on Monday with incumbent Sen. Jim Talent (R) 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, the Washington Post reports (Murray, Washington Post, 10/9). Talent said that McCaskill has "not stood for the protection or dignity of life, in a prenatal stage, in any context," citing her opposition to a 1999 measure that passed the Missouri Legislature that would have banned certain late-term abortions, the Kansas City Star reports (Stearns, Kansas City Star, 10/9). 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 (Russert, "Meet the Press" transcript, NBC, 10/8).
  
  A video excerpt of the debate on abortion rights is available online in RealPlayer. Complete video of the program is available online in Windows Media.
  

• South Dakota: Pastors from five denominations at a news conference on Tuesday criticized a law (HB 1215) banning abortion in the state except to save a woman's life, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports (Callison, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 10/11). The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families -- a coalition of opponents of the ban -- 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, 10/2). The pastors -- who are representatives from the group Pastors for Moral Choices -- are from the Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church and United Church of Christ, the Leader reports. According to the pastors, the proposed ban restricts religious freedom and would return the state to a "regressive, discriminatory and dangerous way of life." The group added that the ban is "neither just nor compassionate" (Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 10/11).
  

• South Dakota: House Leader Larry Rhoden (R) on Tuesday reiterated his support for a law (HB 1215) passed this year that bans abortion in the state except to save a woman's life, the AP/Yankton Press and Dakotan reports. Rhoden said some voters questioned his position after a national Associated Press story reported he was having second thoughts about whether exceptions for rape and incest should be included in the statewide abortion ban. "My position has stayed the same and is stronger now" than when the measure was first passed, Rhoden said, adding that he questioned the exceptions during debates over the measure last winter because "it's only obvious in a decision of that magnitude, you know you question yourself and you question the wisdom of what you're doing." Rhoden has spoken at numerous events in recent months to encourage people to vote for the ban in November, the AP/Argus Leader reports (AP/Argus Leader, 10/10).
  

• Tennessee: Tennessee Right to Life on Wednesday endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Bryson, Eyewitness News reports. Bryson in 2003 co-sponsored a bill authorizing "Choose Life" license plates to be produced in the state. He also proposed a failed resolution that would have permitted the state to limit abortion (Eyewitness News, 10/12). State RTL Chair Brian Harris in a media release from the Bryson campaign said the group endorsed Bryson because of the "stark distinction" between the candidates. Gov. Phil Bredesen's (D) spokesperson, Will Pinkston, said the governor favors "reasonable restrictions" on abortion but believes the final decision should be made by the "woman, her family, her doctor and her church" (Associated Press, 10/11).
  

"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.