S.D. Voters Reject Abortion Ballot Measure

(CBS/ AP)  Voters across the country voted on variety of state ballot measures, including state Constitution amendments to ban gay marriage and restrictions on abortion.

CBS News projects that voters in South Dakota voted down Measure 11, which would have prohibited abortions except in cases where the mother's life or health is at a substantial and irreversible risk, and in cases of reported rape and incest. If it had passed, it would likely have triggered a legal challenge which could have lead to the U.S. Supreme Court and a reconsideration of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established the right to abortion.

In Colorado, CBS News projects that voters rejected Amendment 48, which would have defined the term "person" to include any human being from the moment of fertilization.

And in California, voters are deciding on Proposition 4, which would require a waiting period of 48 hours after parental notification before allowing a minor to terminate a pregnancy.

One of the most high-profile ballot initiatives is California's Proposition 8, which would eliminate the right of same-sex couples under the state constitution to marry, and would provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Similar measures have prevailed previously in 27 states, but none were in California's situation - with thousands of gay couples already married in the aftermath of a state Supreme Court ruling in May.

Similar ballot measures were up for vote in Arizona and Florida. CBS News projects that Arizona voters have passed the gay marriage ban.

Reporting on California's Proposition 8, Barbara Simon, Executive Producer of CBS News on LOGO, says polls have gone back and forth with extremely slim margins, and right now, the number on 8's side is leading by three points, according to a poll from our CBS station KPIX-TV in San Francisco. The margin of error is 4.

Colorado voters are deciding on Amendment 46, which would prohibit discrimination by the state or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting. According to a poll taken in late October by CBS station KCNC in Denver and the Rocky Mountain News, 53 percent of registered voters in Colorado support the amendment.

CBS News projects that Nebraska voters are going to pass Measure 424, which is a constitutional amendment which bans affirmative action, by prohibiting the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education or public contracting, although there would exceptions for certain federal programs.

In Massachusetts, voters had to decide on a ballot measure eliminating the state's income tax. Question One proposed eliminating the 5.3 percent income tax by January 2010. According to projections, the ballot question was not passed.

Click here for updated, complete election results by state.

[klunder3]

Responding to Celestial Sea, who wrote in part:

"I guess for those who don''''t have any Christian convictions, all these so called issues are not really issues at all. I guess if you don''''t have a conscience there''''s really nothing to worry about."

Does this mean, Celestial Sea, that you believe Christians are the only people who have a conscience? If so, that doesn''t should very "Christian" to me. Do you believe that Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and any other type of religious people who are not Christians live without a conscience?! How about agnostics, would you automatically condemn them also, as people without consciences, simply because they don''t share your culture and your religiosity? That doesn''t sound much like Jesus'' message to me, and I went to private, paroohial Christian grammar schools and high school for 12 years.

[blazercoach1]

I suspect that if the state ONLY recognized legal unions...regardless of gender, there wouldn''t be much of an uproar.

Leave "marriage" to churches. Leave "unions" to the government. One is a holy sacrament between two people and God, the other is a legal arrangement. The fact is, they are distinct and people DO treat them differently. So why confuse the issue by using one word to describe two different things?

[celestialsea]

I guess for those who don''t have any Christian convictions, all these so called issues are not really issues at all. I guess if you don''t have a conscience there''s really nothing to worry about. Let''s all just live like hell and hope for the best. Since I''m from such a "stink hole" as the Bible belt, believing that what''s written in the Bible is very important to me. All life should be respected and loved, whether it''s given or received. As far as this election goes, it''s like any other election in the past, "TIME WILL TELL". No one can change this fact.

[celestialsea]

It''s all very scary.

[perk235]

Mom_O_Truth posted:
Legal Babies can only be made between a Man and a Woman.
---------------

This is an interesting statement because it highlights how marriage is a LEGAL CONTRACT--something authorized by the state, not the church.

Churches don''t determine legality in our democracy, rather, legislation does. So, to make "legal babies" is up to our laws, not to religion. That''s why we have chances to vote on the issue and adapt.

[norepubs]

Nobody chooses to be gay and have to face a life of ridicule.
For example: tell us exactly when you chose to be straight?
*YOU* should follow the example of God,but certainly, that is too much to ask......
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you arent born that way...being gay is a sin like many things thats y god died for us...god loves everyone equally...christians dont hate *** atleast i dont...

[norepubs]

There are a lot of unwanted crack babies out there that need a mom and dad. I think it''s time for right wing hypocrites to step up to the plate and support all unwanted children until the age of 21. Certainly they should at least pay for all children that would''ve otherwise have been aborted.
How many of you out there think that will happen??
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now bout this abortion thing..you kill a baby ur a murder...from conception the baby is alive..theres adoption

Posted by fush2

[andrew_693]

interesting....since marriage in the south was created for the sole purpose of having children according to the republicans,that would definitely explain why most teenagers in that stink hole called the bible belt teenagers get knocked up out of wedlock like sarah palin''s daughter.

[tmittelstaed]

would some moron at CBS explain why the word g a y s is replaced by stars, and the word gay is NOT? ***?

[tmittelstaed]

It is true that Marriage is one of the few places that religion and the government mix. The reason this is so is because it is in the interests of society to help out all marriages and create child-raising families.
There isn''t any society in history that discouraged families that survived in the long term, which is why marriage is one of the few things that is common among all civilizations.
Once you start creating marriages soley for the purpose of creating a marriage, and the resultant family has no intention of creating or of raising children, it turns marriage into a sham of what it is supposed to be. It is just as pointless for a man and a woman to get married, who never intend on having or of raising children, as it is for 2 women or 2 men to get married, who never intend on raising children. I think that everyone unconsciously understands this.
The real problem with gay marriage is that the notion of *** raising children is distasteful to most people. People would rather not have *** raise children, so they feel why do *** really need marriage unless they want to raise children? The tax and inheritance and medical issues can easily be taken care of by civil law changes - the real sticking point is gay couples rearing children. Until the US society accepts that, it will not accept gay marriage.