Planned Parenthood® Action Center

In 2008, voters in three states — California, Colorado, and South Dakota — rejected harsh and extreme initiatives that would seriously jeopardize women’s health and safety. All three contests were hard fought — even in the final moments before Election Day — but in the end, we were victorious in all three contests!

Planned Parenthood health centers in California, Colorado, and South Dakota each serve hundreds of thousands of people every year. This is where politics meets real people. 

CALIFORNIA

For the third time in four years, a small group of anti-choice extremists tried to interfere with teens' health and safety by mandating parental notification for abortion.

California voters proved they know that mandating parental notification doesn't work. They know that most parents already are involved when teens are faced with an unintended pregnancy and that no law can mandate family communication.

COLORADO

Anti-choice petitioners — Colorado for Equal Rights and Kristine Burton — gathered enough signatures to put a proposal on the Colorado ballot to amend the state constitution to grant due process and equality of justice rights to embryos from the moment of fertilization.

This intrusive constitutional amendment failed. Fortunately, in Colorado, a woman still has the right to make private, personal decisions about her health, in consultation with her doctor, free from governmental interference. This is a win for women in Colorado and across the country. Learn more.

SOUTH DAKOTA

In 2006, South Dakota voters rejected an extreme attempt to ban abortion services in all cases. This year, anti-choice forces tried to push through another sweeping ban with extremely limited exceptions — they were so narrowly defined that even in cases where a woman’s life was at risk, it would be virtually impossible for a doctor to intervene.

Anti-choice forces dubbed South Dakota "ground zero" in their fight to ban abortion. Fortunately, the people of South Dakota disagreed with these extremists and rejected the latest abortion ban. This ban would have been a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, and by rejecting it, South Dakotans have stood up for the health and liberty of all American women. Learn more about this historic victory.