ObamaCare, Abortion on Swing-State Ballots

State measures provide 'symbolic catharsis for conservatives'
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 5, 2012 4:47 PM CST
ObamaCare, Abortion on Swing-State Ballots
Mike Griffith, of Canton, Ga., holds a sign during a protest against President Barack Obama's health care reform plan outside the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Wednesday, June 8, 2011.   (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

ObamaCare isn't just a hot topic at the federal level this election year. While Mitt Romney has vowed to reform it, some states are putting their opposition to ObamaCare directly on the ballot, the Hill reports. Florida, for example, is letting voters weigh in on the health care mandate, and similar measures have cropped up in Montana, Alabama, and Wyoming. They wouldn't overturn the Supreme Court's ruling, but would provide "a symbolic catharsis for conservatives," notes the Hill.

Missouri offers the most meaningful anti-ObamaCare measure, which would prevent the governor from approving a state insurance exchange where people can compare policies before buying (in such cases, the federal government would run an exchange). A few abortion measures have also appeared this year: One in Montana would require minors to get parental notification before an abortion, and one in Florida would stop state workers from using health care to pay for abortions, except in extreme cases. (More ObamaCare stories.)

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