Anti-choice groups and politicians will use any means necessary to block women's access to abortion and even birth control - legislation, the courts, and ballot measures.

In 2006, pro-choice voters in three states (California, Oregon, and South Dakota) defeated anti-choice ballot measures, reaffirming that the right to choose belongs to a woman - not politicians.

But anti-choice leaders and organizations aren't giving up. Now, they are working to put even more anti-choice measures on state ballots in 2008. Please see examples of these anti-choice activities and find ways you can help stop or defeat these measures.

Abortion Bans

• Anti-choice groups in South Dakota collected enough signatures to place an abortion ban on the November 2008 ballot, although voters resoundingly rejected an abortion ban in 2006. NARAL Pro-Choice South Dakota has joined with a coalition of state-based organizations, including the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, to fight the ban.
  
• In Missouri, an anti-choice group is behind a measure that, if successful, would place a near-total ban on abortion. The deceptively titled "Prevention of Coerced and Unsafe Abortions Act" is actually a sweeping civil ban that would only allow an abortion when necessary to prevent a woman's death or disability. The law offers no exceptions for victims of rape or incest. The Elliot Group, the anti-abortion group based in Springfield, Illinois, must gather 90,000 signatures to place the initiative on the 2008 ballot.
  
  
• Anti-choice activists in California have filed an initiative that is a dangerous threat to women's health and an opening for government intrusion in personal, private medical decisions. This measure is currently pending approval from the attorney general, before signature gathering can begin.

Definition of Personhood

• Anti-choice groups are pushing measures in several states that threaten women's health and could open the door for government intrusion in personal, private decisions. In Colorado and Montana, measures would establish that "life begins at conception" and, if passed, could not only outlaw abortion but also lead to bans on birth control, stem-cell research, and assisted-reproductive technologies, such as in-vitro fertilization. Colorado for Equal Rights, the anti-abortion group sponsoring the initiative, has until May to collect 76,000 signatures in order to place the initiative on the November 2008 ballot. The Montana initiative's language has been approved by the attorney general. To qualify for the ballot, supporters must gather approximately 44,600 signatures of registered voters by June 20.
  
  
• A potential Georgia legislative referral seeks to guarantee each person a "right to life" from the moment of fertilization. The measure was backed by the anti-choice Thomas More Law Center, which describes itself as "the sword and shield for people of faith" and features a video on its website comparing abortion to the Holocaust. At this time, it appears unlikely this measure will get beyond the earliest stages in the process.
  
  
• An Oregon measure - also backed by the Thomas More Law Center - remains on our watch list. To date, this anti-choice measure has gained no traction.

Parental Notification

• California anti-choice activists have filed a parental-notification measure for the third time. Voters rejected almost identical ballot initiatives in 2005 and 2006. Proponents are currently gathering signatures, and need 694,354 to qualify.
  
  
• An anti-choice group also filed a parental-notification initiative to would amend the Montana Constitution. The measure is pending approval from the attorney general before signature gathering can begin.

At this stage it is too early to know how many of these measures will qualify for the ballot, but NARAL Pro-Choice America and its affiliates will keep you posted on new developments.