Abortion Proposition Finds Its Forum in the Churches

Short on funds, neither side could afford to make much public noise about the measure, which would require doctors to notify parents of minors seeking abortions and define the procedure as causing the death of "a child conceived but not yet born."

But as the weeks before election day dwindled, millions of voters began hearing about the initiative in a place not routinely associated with California politics -- their neighborhood church.

So it went on Sunday, when the faithful up and down the state received a dose of propaganda with their prayer books.

At some Catholic parishes around Los Angeles, it came in a glossy "yes on 73" flier slipped into the church bulletin. At Methodist and Lutheran churches in the Bay Area, it was dished up by organizers who set up information tables behind the pews and urged a "no" vote.

And at some evangelical Christian churches, including the Rock in Roseville, a suburb of Sacramento, pastors made time for a two-minute DVD featuring teenage actresses promoting support for the measure.

"The essence of Prop. 73 is to protect young girls from abortion and allow parents to be part of that equation," said Senior Pastor Francis Anfuso at the Rock, where the video rolled on twin screens shown to about 900 weekend churchgoers. "There's a wonderful simplicity to it, and it's definitely a message we wanted to spread here."

Amid the din of television ads targeting other measures facing voters Tuesday, it was easy to miss the mostly grass-roots debate over Proposition 73. The measure contains the most emotional issue on the ballot, but the campaign has been hashed out largely below the radar with few mailers, a smattering of radio ads, some automated phone calls and only a single major-market TV ad.

One unique feature, however, was the campaign inside halls of worship, places usually reserved for reflection and prayer.

"This initiative is really a gut issue," said Barbara O'Connor, a professor of politics and media at Cal State Sacramento. "And in an election where people are being inundated by a drumbeat of ads, this type of more personal, one-on-one contact right in their own church

The payoff won't be clear until Tuesday.