Two out of three states that had pro-life measures on the ballot on Election Day 2018 have now seen those measures successfully passed by voters. While Oregon failed to pass Measure 106, which would have “challenge[d] the legality of public funding for abortion except in the case of an ectopic pregnancy or if the woman’s life is in danger,” both Alabama and West Virginia voters passed their measures.
The New York Times reports that West Virginia voters passed Amendment 1, which will amend the West Virginia state constitution to, as the Times puts it, “state that a woman’s right to an abortion is not protected in West Virginia,” which the Times claims “pav[es] the way for the State Legislature to ban the procedure outright if the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.”
BREAKING:
West Virginia Passes Amendment 1 – A Constitutional Amendment which “clarifies that nothing in the state constitution ‘protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion.'” ?
— Live Action (@LiveAction) November 7, 2018
As Live Action News previously reported, the amendment “is very similar to Tennessee’s Amendment 1” which:
… would “clarify that nothing in the [West Virginia] constitution ‘protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion’.”
According to RollCall.com, the amendment would also “ban state Medicaid funds from going to abortion except in cases like rape, incest, a fetal anomaly or threats to the life of the woman.” Medicaid in the state currently only funds abortions considered “medically necessary.”
READ: Is abortion necessary for the life or health of the mother?
In Alabama, Amendment 2 received 59 percent of the vote. This amendment is what is referred to as a “trigger law,” meaning that it would go into effect should the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide ever be overturned. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, “Amendment 2 essentially declares Alabama a ‘pro-life’ state, affirming that it is ‘the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children.'”
On social media, some pro-abortion users are reacting with apparent shock and hysteria over the amendments that passed, claiming that birth control will be made illegal, and “people with uteruses” are going to die, especially because of Alabama’s Amendment 2:
The Alabama Amendment 2, in particular, is truly repulsive. Not an exaggeration: people with uteruses (especially those with fewer resources) are going to die as a direct result of this.
— VOTE ON 11/6 ? ︽✵︽ (@jurisprudame) November 7, 2018
The campaign against Amendment 2 stirred up fears that women who have legitimate miscarriages will be jailed, and that it could somehow “open the door to make abortion illegal in the US for all reasons,” though no information is given as to how this might occur:
EVERYONE NEEDS TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO ALABAMA’S AMENDMENT 2. IT COULD OPEN THE DOOR TO MAKE ABORTION ILLEGAL IN THE US FOR ALL REASONS. Including if a woman has a miscarriage but can’t prove it was a miscarriage. I know it’s “only Alabama” but PAY ATTENTION TO THIS.
— ✨ eve ✨ (@eveharmon) November 7, 2018
Another Twitter user claimed that “women’s rights have been taken away” with the passage of Amendment 2:
Today, Amendment 2 was passed in Alabama. Women’s rights have been taken away from them & its time to stand up. It doesn’t end on Election Day. It’s only the beginning. pic.twitter.com/lxex6Tz9NY
— S.C. (@innovat_her) November 7, 2018
Pro-life and pro-abortion groups are now observing closely to see if a conservative Supreme Court will, in some way, roll back Roe v. Wade, allowing states to protect the preborn.
