Editorial: Bridging a culture divide

Friday, Nov. 10, 2006 | 6:55 a.m.

Even in states long considered socially conservative bastions of the Midwest and West, voters turned their backs on the far right this week by endorsing abortion rights, supporting stem cell research and defeating a ban on same-sex marriage.

In a ballot booth showdown in what has been thought of as anti-abortion South Dakota, voters rejected a new state law that sought to ban all abortions except to save the woman's life. In Kansas, a state where religious conservatives have opposed everything from abortion rights to teaching evolution, voters ousted a Republican attorney general who had bragged about his efforts to seize women's medical records from abortion clinics.

Missouri voters took a stand in favor of stem cell research - rejecting the position supported by many religious leaders in that state. One Missouri voter told the Associated Press that although endorsing the measure "goes against my church," the possibility of finding cures for debilitating illnesses suffered by family members "was worth it."

Although seven states approved same-sex marriage bans, AP reports, the margins of such approvals were far narrower than expected - South Dakota's ban passed with only 52 percent of the votes. Voters in typically conservative Arizona, however, rejected a same-sex marriage ban. Those who opposed the measure said it went too far because it also barred government entities from recognizing domestic partnerships in offering employee benefits.

While same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research and abortion rights likely will continue to culturally divide our nation, this week's election shows that the gap is narrowing. Americans want to make their own choices on these challenging issues. And, increasingly, they are telling the far-right conservatives seeking to make those choices for them that they are out of touch and out of line.