Washington Initiative 694, "Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act" Measure (1998)

Washington Initiative 694
Election date November 3, 1998
Topic Abortion
Status d Defeated
Type State statute	Origin Citizens

Washington Initiative 694, the “Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act” Measure, was on the ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the People on November 3, 1998. The ballot initiative was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported prohibiting persons from "[performing] partial-birth infanticide," which the initiative would have defined as "the killing of an infant in the process of birth by a person who deliberately and intentionally performs a procedure on the partially born infant and the person knows will terminate the life of the infant and the procedure does terminate the life of the infant."

A "no" vote opposed prohibiting persons from "[performing] partial-birth infanticide" under state law.

Overview

What would Initiative 694 have changed about abortion law in Washington?

Initiative 694 would have prohibited partial-birth abortion, also known as intact dilation and extraction, under state law, except in cases to prevent the death of the mother.

The ballot initiative would have provided that "it is a felony for a person to perform partial-birth infanticide." The term partial-birth infanticide would have been defined as "the killing of an infant in the process of birth by a person who deliberately and intentionally performs a procedure on the partially born infant and the person knows will terminate the life of the infant and the procedure does terminate the life of the infant."

On November 3, 57.15% voted to reject the ballot measure.

Election results

Washington Initiative 694
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		802,376	42.85%
No		1,070,360	57.15%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Shall the termination of a fetus' life during the process of birth be a felony crime except when necessary to prevent the pregnant woman's death?

”

Support

Arguments

• Dr. Robert Bethel, State Rep. Joyce Mulliken (R-13), and lawyer Paula Ranney: “Although the Supreme Court has declared a right to terminate a pregnancy, it has never declared a right to terminate the lives of children who are in the process of being born. Initiative 694 stops a procedure - partial-birth infanticide - that goes far beyond abortion and Roe. Initiative 694 is carefully drafted to ensure it does not interfere with a woman’s right to choose an abortion. Under Initiative 694, women will still have access to legal abortion.”

Opposition

Arguments

• Gwen Chaplin, President of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Washington, Elizabeth Pierini, President of the League of Women Voters of Washington, and Rev. Flora Bowers: "The odd language of I-694 does not conform to known medical terminology. This means doctors will not know what is legal or illegal. The courts will decide if you or your doctor has broken the law. Depending on where you live, many abortions could be investigated and prosecuted as a felony by local authorities. … I-694 is seriously flawed. Remember, women look to their physicians for appropriate medical guidance, not their local prosecutors.”

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Washington

Initiative 694 was a Initiative to the People, the state's name for direct initiated state statutes. Dr. Robert Bethel filed the ballot initiative on March 31, 1998.

Proponents filed 216,716 signatures. At least 179,248 of the signatures needed to be valid. On July 27, 1998, Secretary of State Ralph Munro (R) announced that a random sample of signatures projected that 193,904 were valid.

See also

1998 Measures

• 1998 Measures
• Abortion policy on the ballot
• 1998 legislative sessions

Washington

• Washington ballot measures
• Washington ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls